Work to Begin in July on YSU Commercialization Center
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Work on the Mahoning Valley Innovation and Commercialization Center is slated to begin in July and be completed by August 2020.
The center, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Commerce Street, will house programs aimed at fostering interdisciplinary projects that link health-care, art and the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Clients will have access to workforce development and educational tools that aid movement from entry-level businesses to high-level manufacturing.
The center is a partnership between Youngstown State University, Eastern Gateway Community College, Youngstown Business Incubator, Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center, America Makes and Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, as well as economic development organizations and area career and technical centers.
The $11.5 million project is funded by federal, state and private funds. Much of the building will be renovated and a 32,000-square-foot expansion will be added to the structure.
The construction work is just part of the summer construction agenda at YSU. Other projects include the construction of student recreation space Cafaro Field, the Don Constantini Multimedia Center at Stambaugh Stadium and a new indoor tennis center on Scott Street.
“We’ve known for some time that this was going to be a hectic summer, with lots of new construction and improvements, both interior and exterior, across campus,” said Rich White, YSU’s director of planning and construction, in a statement.
Several classroom projects are also planned, all of which are expected to be finished by the start of the fall semester. In Cushwa Hall, rooms for the physical therapy department will be renovated and expanded into space once used by the Office of Media and Academic Computing.
In Meshel Hall, a three-year renovation project will conclude with work to add classrooms and restrooms. And in Ward Beecher Hall, structural repairs will be made in the bottom-level mechanical areas.
New parking areas are also in the works, with the former City Printing building at the corner of Phelps and Woods streets set for demolition and a 334-space lot set to be added at Elm Street and Eastbound Service Road across from the Watson and Tressel Training Site.
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