Last month was a busy and interesting time for Metro Monthly and “Homeplate with Casey Malone.” It started with reporters from the Christian Science Monitor and Properties Magazine interviewing me about economic development and downtown revitalization in Youngstown. Later in the month, I represented Metro Monthly in a focus group hosted by Mill Creek Metroparks, where participants discussed park usage, visitation and assessments of future recreational needs.
And late last month, the History Press of Charleston, S.C. published “Remembering Youngstown: Tales from the Mahoning Valley.” A representative from the History Press contacted me last summer about publishing Metro Monthly’s history articles as part of their American Chronicles book series. “Tales from the Mahoning Valley” is the result and the book features some great local writing and over 50 rare historical photographs, some never-before-published.
In addition, our new local television program, “Homeplate with Casey Malone,” continued to be fun, well-received, and a real learning experience. (One lesson: Never wear dark trousers on a bakery shoot.) Since its debut in spring, broadcast journalist Casey Malone has taken viewers on fascinating weekly explorations of local restaurants, food manufacturers and ethnic kitchens.
Recent episodes have included the Royal Oaks, Chieffo’s Italian Foods and the pierogy operation at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church. “Homeplate” airs every Saturday at 7 a.m. on WYTV (Channel 33) and on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on MYTV. Be sure to tune in this month when Casey visits World Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik for some knockout spaghetti and meatballs. This special episode airs on Father’s Day weekend, June 20-21. “Homeplate” and the Metro Monthly would like to thank Kelly and his family for graciously inviting us into their home.
Enjoy summer and see you next month.
– Mark C. Peyko
Metro Monthly Publisher
Towering Ambition
Developer moves closer to completing downtown’s first upscale apartments
By Mark C. Peyko
Metro Monthly Editor
A Cleveland-based developer with substantial real estate holdings in downtown Youngstown is hoping that area residents will have an appetite for upscale apartment living in the central business district.
Lou Frangos of Cleveland-based Park South Development Co., LLC, and the Frangos Group, will begin leasing the downtown’s first upscale apartment building when Realty Towers opens later this summer.
According to Frangos and company representatives, the apartment building is expected to open some time in August. However, the marketing of the apartment building started a few years earlier.
During a recent interview, Bill Sperlazza, an employee of the Frangos Group and a marketing agent for the company, thumbed through a spreadsheet of the approximately 96 people who have expressed interest in Realty Towers.
Sperlazza, who recently retired from Youngstown State University’s student housing office, sees the downtown as an untapped market. Despite turning up some dry leads, Sperlazza said he was optimistic. He said that his company only needed 23 interested parties to get all the apartments rented.
Frangos and Sperlazza see a diverse market for Realty Towers: Cleveland lawyers, faculty from Youngstown State University, empty-nesters, even students. However, before developing the project, Frangos said he needed to convince funding sources on the viability of the project.
“There was no upscale housing in the area,” Frangos said. “Cleveland had a history of housing. It’s just more readily accepted there. Downtown Youngstown was a little bit of a challenge.”
When Frangos purchased the Realty Building in 2000, the structure had offices and some retail space and was about 30 to 40 percent occupied.
“We decided to take a really hard look at what we could do in the building,” Frangos said. “It needed a tremendous amount of rehab, abatement cleanup. For a number of years, we just studied this building and tried to figure out what we could do.”
“We did a survey of the economics of it. We did the study, we saw there was a need [for upscale housing] and we convinced our banks and the city that this was a project worth doing.”
Frangos said his company began looking at apartments for the Realty Building in 2003 and 2004, but it took until last year “to structure the deal and make it happen.”
As recent as last month, construction was still well under way. Workers were seen carting construction materials throughout the building and a painter was doing intricate restoration work on ornamental plasterwork in the lobby.
However, Frangos and Sperlazza have been doing interviews from one of the nearly completed model apartments on an upper floor to give the media and leasing prospects an idea of what’s in store.
Realty Towers features a number of floor plans. Apartments are accessed from an original central corridor that is serviced by two elevators.
Although the facade of Realty Towers is pretty much unchanged, the inside scarcely resembles the original office building. Spacious, open floor plans give apartment units a contemporary feel. Many of the main living areas allow views of the city from the kitchen and living room. Units have two and three bedroom layouts, and modern amenities like dishwashers, high-speed Internet and a community fitness center will presumably make them competitive with other market-rate housing in the area.
Because Realty Towers is sited on the eastern portion of Central Square, many units have commanding views of the downtown. Although the largest of the residential units will be located in the penthouse, some of the most impressive views of the city are seen from the second and third floors.
First floor space, ranging from 1,200 to 3,500 square feet, is designated for offices, retail or a business like a restaurant. Frangos said he hopes to secure a national tenant for the first floor.
Sarah Lown, development incentive manager for the city of Youngstown, sees the Realty Towers project as good for the city and its future. “All vibrant downtowns have this type of residential housing,” she said. “It’s something that has been missing in Youngstown. There’s a whole school of thought about attracting the ‘creative class’ to your community. That’s a demographic segment that likes to live in a city, is more educated, and tends to work in higher-paying jobs.”
Lown added that Realty Towers may appeal to another group – retirees who spend half of the year elsewhere, but have children and grandchildren in town. She said retirees may find Realty Towers appealing because it’s “low-maintenance” and “high-quality.”
The Realty Building was constructed in 1924 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Youngstown architects Morris Scheibel and Edgar Stanley designed the classically-embellished 13-story building in the Commercial Style, then popular in Chicago and other major cities.
Park South Development Co., LLC, owns the Realty Tower, National City Bank Building, and the Wick Tower. The Frangos Group/USA Parking is the real estate company that manages these properties and others throughout Ohio. Headquartered in Cleveland, the Frangos Group has offices in Youngstown and Warren.
$22 million to weatherize
low-income homes in 17th
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (OH-17) announced in mid-May that counties within the 17th Congressional District would receive $22,197,175 in stimulus money as part of a grant to make houses more energy efficient.
The funds are part of $266 million in revenue that will be administered by the state of Ohio and granted by the U.S. Department of Energy. Monies will be used to make necessary improvements to low-income homes that will improve energy efficiency and lower energy costs.
“This is a jobs bill,” said Ryan. “This money will create skilled jobs and provide opportunities to subcontractors specializing in weatherization/energy efficiency services. It puts people back to work in the short term and reduces energy costs and consumption in the long term.”
The Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership will be receiving $7,421,544 expected to help weatherize 885 homes.
The Trumbull County Action Program will receive $3,684,570 for expected work on 439 houses.
Portage County Inc. will receive $2,346,242 for expected work on 280 houses.
The East Akron Neighborhood Develop-ment Corporation will receive $1,786,390 for work on 213 houses.
Summit County Department of Com-munity and Economic Development has been granted $6,958,429 for work on 829 houses.
The number of homes is a projection provided by the Ohio Department of Development. The distribution of stimulus funds is expected to begin in June and will continue over the next three years. Funding is still contingent upon approval of the Home Weatherization Assistance Program plan by the U.S. Department of Energy.
$20,000 grant to repair
roof at Warren YWCA
The YWCA Warren, 375 N. Park Ave., Warren, announced last month that the Youngstown Foundation’s Mahoning Valley Sports Charities Fund has awarded the non-profit community based organization $20,000 to repair the roof over the YWCA’s Community Room.
“We are pleased to receive this grant from the Youngstown Foundation’s Mahoning Valley Sports Charities Fund,” said Shari Harrell, YWCA executive director. “It is a vote of confidence in the viability of the Association and the role we play in the community.” “The Community Room is utilized by more than the YWCA. Hundreds of people attend programs each week from numerous community and faith-based organizations.”
For more information on the YWCA, contact Michelle Schmader at 330-373-1010, ext. 15, or via email at program@ywcaofwarren.org.
Public Library meeting
concerns budget cuts
An increasingly large decline in Ohio tax collections will mean an even more severe decrease in library funding than previously thought. The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County will have to cut an additional $840,828 from its budget in the remaining months of 2009. This adds to a revenue loss of $1,116,070 which had previously been calculated into the current 2009 budget.
As a result, Trustees cancelled the May 12 meeting of the Finance, Audit and Investment Committee because the budget that was being prepared for that meeting was determined to be inadequate to meet the challenges of an even steeper funding decline.
Libraries throughout Ohio are funded largely by the Public Library Fund (PLF), comprised of 2.22 percent of the state’s total general tax revenue. The decrease in funding to libraries is due to diminished tax receipts in the state’s General Revenue fund.
Instead, the Library Trustees’ Executive Committee was set to meet on May 12 in the small meeting room of the Newport Library, 3730 Market St., to discuss the situation. The committee will review potential courses of action that will be necessary due to the funding decline.
The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County will now prepare for the event that 2009 revenues from the PLF may be down 20 percent from calendar year 2008. The Library had previously planned for an 11 percent reduction. The 2009 projected figures indicate that state revenues to Mahoning County’s libraries could be down $1,956,899 from last year’s funding levels. Since it is nearly the middle of the year, the Library will have to adjust for the additional $840,828 reduction in the remaining months.
At the May 12 meeting, the Executive Committee will review the new budget information and consider a list of potential steps that might be taken to address the severe drop in funding.
St. Elizabeth’s expands
emergency department
To keep pace with patient volumes, Humility of Mary Health Partners will expand the emergency department at St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center.
Over the past five years, the emergency department has experienced a steady increase in emergency patient volumes. That growth increased dramatically in 2008, fueled by the hospital’s first full year of operation as an acute care facility and the closure of Forum Health’s emergency department on the Beeghly Campus in late 2007.
New construction at the hospital will total more than 7,400 square feet and will provide 12 additional emergency treatment areas, an additional nursing station, and the relocation of the patient registration and triage areas.
“We currently have 18 treatment areas in our emergency department,” said Genie Aubel, president of SEBHC. “If patient growth continues as we expect, the additional 12 beds will allow us to meet demand through 2014.”
According to Bob Shroder, president and CEO, HMHP’s board of directors recently approved the expenditure of capital funds for the expansion. Total estimated cost of construction and equipment is $4,262,000.
“It is exciting to be able to announce this expansion, especially in these economic times,” said Shroder. “We are proud to be able to meet the changing health care needs of the Mahoning Valley and assure residents that they do not need to leave the area for superb care.”
Construction will begin following Boardman Township zoning approval and a bidding process and is expected to last just over 13 months.
Office of Veterans Affairs opens on YSU’s campus
In an effort to better serve members of the military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Youngstown State University has opened a new Office of Veterans Affairs.
The office, led by YSU graduate and Vietnam War veteran Jim Olive, is designed to help veterans with the transition from military life to college life, including assistance with admissions, financial aid, registration, academic advising and tutoring.
“At a time when the nation is anticipating the return of thousands of our courageous military men and women from war zones overseas, it is important that Youngstown State University be prepared to offer the special services needed by these individuals,” said Cynthia Anderson, vice president for Student Affairs.
The office, located on the third floor of Tod Hall, was developed in response to the federal government’s new GI Bill for post-Sept. 11, 2001, veterans. The bill, which goes into effect in August, will fund the full cost of tuition at YSU for veterans who are eligible for full benefits.
With the bill, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expects the total number of veterans enrolled in college to increase by 20 percent over the next two years.
J. Arnold acquires
Creatore financial firm
Jon P. Arnold, MBA Registered Principal, LPL Financial, and owner of J. Arnold and Associates Inc., recently announced that his firm has acquired Creatore Wealth Management from Michael Creatore.
J. Arnold and Associates is a local financial services firm that was started in late 2005, and has offices at 1315 Boardman-Canfield Road in Boardman and in Salem.
