VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio – The Western Reserve Port Authority Board of Directors approved contracts for a proposed aviation education center, Mahoning County Government Center and Air Heritage Trail projects during its monthly meeting Wednesday.
The port authority awarded a $6.98 million contract to B&B Contractors and Developers, Youngstown, to construct the new YNG Aviation Education Center at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, which WRPA operates. The agreement is contingent on legal counsel approval and receipt of notices to proceed from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and Federal Aviation Administration.
EDA approval is anticipated within a week, said Randy Partika, director of engineering and construction for the port authority. A 43-day federal government shutdown last fall and a four-day shutdown this spring delayed approvals.
“Once they begin construction, it’s about a 14-month project,” said Anthony Trevena, WRPA executive director.
Two contracts were awarded for the new Mahoning County Government Center, which WRPA and Mahoning County officials announced earlier this year would be built on the site of the former Eastern Gateway Community College classroom building and parking garage.
The port authority, which is managing the project, awarded a $3.38 million contract to BSHM Architects, Youngstown, to design the government center. After a three-month process, BSHM was selected from among 10 firms that responded to the port authority’s request for qualifications, Partika said. WRPA plans to seek proposals soon for bids to demolish the existing building, which will take place this fall, he said.
The port authority also hired GDP Group, Youngstown, for $516,777 to serve as owner’s representative on behalf of Mahoning County to oversee the project. The owner’s representative provides “another set of eyes on the project” and will take “a lot of work” off the port authority’s staff, Partika said.
The WRPA board approved two contracts for Air Heritage Trail, which will feature a 1-mile public walking path in the shape of a C-130. It awarded an $83,636 contract to R.T. Vernal Paving, North Lima, for parking lot resurfacing and a $50,026 landscaping contract to Delliquadri Lawn and Maintenance, Girard.
The trail project has experienced some delays but should be ready to open in July, Trevena said.
Also during the meeting, board members approved the sale of the former Clark Bar building, 3143 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown, to Marisa LaGuardia, owner of LaGuardia Clayworks, for $300,000. She plans to open Catalyst Creative Center in the building, which she is purchasing through a seller refinancing agreement. LaGuardia will pay off the building over 240 months at a 6% interest rate. She is required to invest a minimum of $135,000 into property improvements under the terms of the agreement.
LaGuardia, who grew up in Poland and has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art, returned to the Mahoning Valley in 2020 after living in Baltimore to start a creative space here. She was among the artists who were displaced with the closing of the Ward Bakery building two years ago.
A ceramicist and painter, she currently is artist in residence at PennOhio Clay Guild in New Castle, Pa., and has been a teaching artist at Students Motivated by the Arts in Youngstown. She plans to use the space to produce her own art and provide space for other artists and for various workshops.
“I really want to pay homage to the people that helped foster my creative voice, and so I decided to come back home and really start something,” she said.
“This is enough space for me to really fortify some of the dreams that I’ve been building and the experience that I’ve had teaching and connecting with museums and working with nonprofits,” she added. “This is a combination of all my experiences with about 12 years of teaching and educating and talking about art and being in some sort of art container. This is a synthesis of that.”
In addition, the board received a brief update on the ongoing Lake to River natural gas pipeline feasibility study, which should be completed in June, following a solicitation to industry partners for more information about how they might participate in the project, consultant said Emil Liszniansky, principal of Envision Group LLC, Columbus. Early estimates put the cost at $1 billion, depending on the size of the pipeline and the end users.
The proposed pipeline being studied would run north from “resource rich areas” in and around Columbiana County, continue north through Mahoning and Trumbull counties and end in Ashtabula County.
“It’s really determining who’s going to own, operate, maintain, develop and finance this pipeline,” he said. “Ultimately, that public-private partnership would be what facilitates the development of this pipeline.”
Benefits of the pipeline would include closing service gaps, permitting construction of additional gas-fired power plants, providing greater system liability in the face of blackouts and increased electrical service demands and maximizing the potential for liquefied natural gas shipping from Ohio River and Great Lakes ports.
Pictured at top: A rendering of the YNG Aviation Education Center.