YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Mayor Derrick McDowell said Tuesday that the city is “seriously” considering the Mahoning County Board of Elections’ interest in occupying the former Bottom Dollar grocery store on Glenwood Avenue but also wants to engage other options in case the project fails to materialize.

“We’re taking that inquiry seriously, but we’re also thinking about what happens if they’re not the end user of this building,” McDowell told City Council’s Community Planning and Economic Development Committee. 

Last week, members of the Board of Elections toured the former grocery store. BOE Chairman David Betras has said he wants to leave the board’s current location at Oakhill Renaissance Place, because he says that building is inadequate.

Betras has also said that any relocation to that building would require that the Western Reserve Port Authority acquire the city-owned site and lease it back to the BOE. 

However, the port authority at this time has not indicated any interest in buying the property from the city, officials said during the meeting.

As of now, the city has no solid commitments from a buyer or lease prospect, and it does not want to spend the estimated $1.5 million needed for repairs, nor act as a landlord, said DeMaine Kitchen, director of the city’s Department of Community Planning and Economic Development. 

“The expenses to keep the building are significant,” Kitchen said. Should the city fund the repairs, it would need to hike leasing rates to recover any investment. 

Under the administration of former mayor Jamael Tito Brown, the building at 2649 Glenwood Ave. was partially renovated with $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan money to accommodate the Village of Healing, an infant mortality clinic that was to be the main tenant in a proposed community hub. Two additional prospective tenants did not present any follow-up or plans to move forward. 

However, a lease was never signed and the project has not come to fruition, and the building has remained vacant since 2015. 

McDowell defeated Brown in the November general election and took office Jan. 1. 

“Nothing is dead, but nothing is definite,” said Kitchen, who joined the new administration this year. “There’s a lot of interest in that building, and from where I sit, that’s good for the city.”

The plan to find an end user for the building has not changed, Kitchen emphasized. “The plan is to find the best use for that building. What that is, we don’t know,” he said. “There’s no proposal that’s been submitted.”

Councilman Julius Oliver, 1st Ward, and committee chairman, said if plans with the board of elections fall through, the city should still consider Village of Healing as a potential end user, citing Youngstown’s high rate of infant mortality. “I think it’s one of the highest in the entire country,” he said. “I think it’s very important that we do get that organization here in the city.”

McDowell said the city has not ruled that tenant out, considering the investment that has already been made in the building. “Nothing is off the table,” he said. 

The mayor also addressed a situation that occurred last week when the city received a request by the BOE to tour the building in what he expected was to be a private tour. McDowell said he was not aware that the request was made public by board members and, as a result, several council members, including Oliver, showed up.

McDowell said he was apprised of the situation while walking to lunch downtown and happened to run into Sharon Cole, chief of police. She suggested that someone from the force could drive by to check on the situation.

However, several council members said it appeared that the police were intentionally called and took offense.

“It was just to ensure that everyone got in and got out,” McDowell explained. 

Still, McDowell took full responsibility for the misunderstanding. “My apologies to you all, members of council, the public and anyone else who felt that this situation was a slight toward the public having access to that building,” he said. 

Covelli Centre Off to Strong Start

The CPED committee also received an update from Eric Ryan, owner and president of JAC Management Group, which manages the Covelli Centre, Wean Park and the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre downtown. 

Ryan conceded that 2025 was a difficult year for the venues but reported that business was strong during the first three months of 2026.

“We’re off to a fantastic first quarter,” he told the committee. “We did have four consecutive sell-outs.”

While the numbers have not been finalized, Ryan said he suspects the first quarter of this year could be its strongest first quarter in Covelli Centre’s history.

“We drew 60,000 people downtown” over the first three months of 2026, he said. Generally, the second and third quarters are slower for indoor performances, but thus far the venue has 57 events booked this year, plus another 30 hockey games, he said. 

Ryan said he projects a strong fourth quarter. “I see it coming back,” he said. “I know in the fourth quarter of this year we have two absolute sell-outs, which are crucial for us.”

Pictured at top: The former Bottom Dollar building at 2649 Glenwood Ave.