Staff photo / Ed Runyan.....The steeple of the former Welsh Congregational Church on Elm Street was among the last parts of the building to come down Wednesday during demolition by Maverick Contracting. At left hosing down the scene is Adam McCullough, a Maverick employee.

YOUNGSTOWN — The former Welsh Congregational Church on Elm Street, the city’s oldest house of worship, came down Wednesday afternoon after 161 years in the city.

Several onlookers expressed sadness to see the building at 220 Elm St. go.

“I am disappointed because I have a master’s degree in applied history,” said Susan Lowery, who works at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor a short distance away. She stayed a while to watch the demolition and take pictures and videos.

“It’s sad to see anything as historical as this to be torn down, something that has been around as many years as this,” she said. “But I understand.”

The church is across Elm Street from St. Columba Cathedral and the offices of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, which owns the building and the former print shop next door at the corner of Elm and Wood streets, which is also going to be demolished this week.

A 1997 fire damaged the former church, and it’s been closed ever since, falling into disrepair.

ACTION DELAYED

The diocese originally planned to demolish the building in January. But that was delayed because it didn’t have city design review approval.

The diocese purchased the church in 2015 with plans to take it down, but agreed two years later to give it to Youngstown CityScape if the organization could relocate it.

Over the past few years, the city rejected several of CityScape’s proposed locations for the building, including near the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor on two different occasions. The location the city had chosen for the church several months ago was on a different parcel near the museum than the one rejected twice.

After the demolition of the church began Wednesday, Justin Huyck, spokesman for the diocese, released a statement: “25 years after the former Welsh Church on Elm Street fell into dangerous disrepair and ceased being used for religious worship, the Diocese of Youngstown received approval in March from the City of Youngstown for its immediate redevelopment plans for the property. Accordingly, the razing of the church building and the nearby print shop began today.

“In 2016, in light of the property’s deteriorating condition, the diocese acquired the property for the purpose of redevelopment. In a diocesan statement released earlier this year, Vicar General Msgr. Robert Siffrin recounted that, ‘Before razing the building (upon acquiring it in 2016), the diocese contacted interested parties to investigate options to move the church structure, develop a practical use of the building, and renovate the structure.’ The diocese offered to delay redevelopment until 2018, and then articulated a final deadline of November 19, 2021.

“Unfortunately, as has been much publicized, concrete and feasible steps were not able to be developed among project partners,” Huyck stated.

GREEN SPACE

When the city’s design review met Feb. 1, it declined to vote on the Diocese’s plans to demolish the building because committee members wanted more information on what was going to be put in its place.

The committee also delayed a vote on the diocese’s request to demolish the former print shop at 208 W. Wood St. for the same reason.

Pat Kelly, the diocese’s chief financial officer, and Tracie Kaglic, the architect on the projects, said the plan was to take down the buildings and create green space.

When committee members asked for specifics, Kelly mentioned shrubs and some landscaping. The members wanted more details and a long-term plan.

Kelly said one long-term option was a building, but there’s no timeline.

“The plan is to demolish the building for future development,” Kaglic added. “We want to demolish as quickly as possible so in the spring, we can get grass planted.”

erunyan@vindy.com