YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – YBI will open the doors to its newly renovated Main Building on Tuesday, Nov. 25, celebrating a nearly $900,000 overhaul of the organization’s flagship facility and recognizing the contributors who funded the project through its Building for the Future campaign. Doors will open at 2:30 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 3 p.m.

The renovation marks the first major update to the organization’s original building since the late 1990s. According to Luke Politsky, YBI chief development officer, years of focusing on new facilities left the Main Building in need of attention.

“It needed a refresh.” Politsky says. 

The building houses YBI’s entrepreneurship programs, technology services, Minority Business Assistance Center, administrative offices and conference rooms on the first floor. Floors two through five serve as workspace for tenant companies and partners. Politsky says the improvements were made to create a more functional and welcoming environment for both staff and the businesses YBI serves.

“We refreshed all of the hallway spaces,” he says. The upgrades include refinished floors, new lighting, fresh paint and renovated bathrooms. A key change, Politsky notes, is the addition of natural light throughout the building. “There will be a lot more light in the building,” he says, pointing to new windows installed on the parking lot side, in the break room and in the large conference room.

The renovations also better support YBI’s role as a meeting place for community partners, elected officials, client companies and nonprofit organizations. “It’s a convening space; it’s a meeting space,” Politsky says. “It didn’t look great for us to not have the nicest looking space, especially when all the other buildings on our block are being renovated.”

Tuesday’s event will formally recognize the individuals, families and organizations whose contributions funded the project. “They put their trust in us,” Politsky says. “We just want to have a little event to recognize their generosity toward us and also reveal it to the community.”

The ribbon cutting comes shortly after YBI announced its updated branding and shortened name, a shift intended to reflect the organization’s broader regional mission. “Our original name, Youngstown Business Incubator, was a great name, and it served us well, but we really have never just served the city of Youngstown, and we’re really no longer just a business incubator,” CEO Barb Ewing says. She added that the new tagline, “Where grit meets growth,” embodies both YBI and the region it serves.

Contributors to the Renovation Campaign include:

  • The Board of Mahoning County Commissioners (2024).
  • Hynes & Finnegan Foundations.
  • Samuel A. & Judy B. Roth.
  • The Youngstown Foundation.
  • Sam & Donna Boak.
  • Edward Barr Charitable Trust.
  • J. Ford Crandall Memorial Foundation.
  • Kennedy Family Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.
  • RT Vernal Paving & Excavating.
  • City of Youngstown Business Façade Program.
  • MG Electric.