The Mahoning and Cuyahoga Rivers share several similarities.

Both rivers played key roles in the development of industry in Cleveland and the Mahoning Valley. Both also have been infamous for severe levels of pollution.

Now, officials in both the Mahoning Valley and Greater Cleveland are making efforts to increase recreational opportunities along both rivers.

In Cleveland, the city’s Metroparks recently approved the purchase of 3.3 acres from an old flour mill called Grain Craft. According to The Plain Dealer, the Metroparks purchased the property for $3.5 million.

Sean McDermott, the Metroparks’ chief planning and design officer, called the acquisition of the Grain Craft property “incredibly significant,” as it sits on the city’s Columbus Road peninsula. McDermott said the Metroparks wants to create a continuous pathway around the peninsula on the edge of the Cuyahoga River.

“The (Grain Craft) property contains several hundred feet of footage on the Cuyahoga River and the neighboring property is already publicly owned,” McDermott said.

The Metroparks official said the Grain Craft site can be linked directly to the neighboring property, which already has a trail system at a site called Rivergate Park.

“The purchase of the Grain Craft property puts us one step closer to that continuous trail,” McDermott said. “We’ll be able to connect all the way from Settler’s Landing (park) all the way to Columbus Road on the Peninsula, probably within a 5-year time frame.”

McDermott said the Cleveland Metroparks, which is 106 years old, has always worked towards increasing public access to the Cuyahoga River, concentrating on education, preservation and conservation, to increase recreational opportunities for the residents of the city.

Similar goals are being pursued in the Mahoning Valley.

VALLEY PLANS

Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, a voluntary association of local governments in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties, is entering a “new phase” of its Mahoning River corridor revitalization plan.

The plan, also known as “The River of Opportunity,” seeks to rebrand and reidentify the river. According to Eastgate’s website, the plan seeks to “give the river the credit it deserves and allow it to be our centerpiece for the valley.”

Justin Mondok, director of planning and development for Eastgate, said the goal of the plan is to capitalize on the river as an economic asset and as a “huge factor” to quality of life in the Mahoning Valley, as has been accomplished in other communities throughout the state.

“To focus on economic development you really have to take a holistic approach,” Mondok said. “Not only do you need high-quality jobs that pay living wages and can provide a living for people, but you also need the quality of life amenities. If you are building places where people want to be and spend time and recreate and kind of have that holistic view of what life is outside of just a job, you need to invest in some of these community assets as well.”

According to a map attached to the River of Opportunity overview, the plan includes the construction of several boat launches and riverfront parks along the Mahoning River, including in Lowellville, Struthers, Youngstown, Girard, Niles, Warren and Newton Falls.

Mondok said the first step in development along the Mahoning River is the removal of several dams.

MAHONING COUNTY

Of the nine dams listed in the plan, two already have been removed, one in Lowellville and the other in Struthers.

In Lowellville, Mayor James Iudiciani Sr. said the village’s lower head dam was removed in 2020. The dam removal cost approximately $2.3 million, which was mostly funded through grants from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

After the removal of the dam, the village installed a dock and canoe livery, allowing residents to have better access to the river. The new dock and canoe livery initially were estimated at $144,000, with a 50-50 match from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, according to newspaper archives.

Iudiciani said restrooms have been installed at the riverfront park and that a new pavilion is also under construction. He said the building of the pavilion was funded through various grants including $250,000 from the Mahoning County commissioners, $100,000 from the Youngstown Foundation, as well as $77,000 in village funds.

Iudiciani said the pavilion is set to be completed this spring.

“The village owns about 15 acres along the riverfront that we have future plans for,” he said.

In Struthers, a dam was removed from the river in 2021. It was part of a $3.2 million project that also included dredging and channel restoration between Bob Cene Way and South Bridge Street.

Struthers also had a community boat launch installed on the riverbank. The city received $75,000 from ODNR to support constructing a hand-powered watercraft ramp in 2020.

Mayor Catherine Cercone-Miller said the city wants to continue taking advantage of the Mahoning River.

“We’re trying to increase the recreation on the river and really open that up,” she said. “Especially in Struthers, and the same as in Lowellville, the river runs directly through our downtown. In Struthers, it’s not as visible. That’s one of our biggest things, we’re trying to uncover that river so that it’s more of a focal point in the city rather than a hidden gem.”

Not only is better river access appreciated by the residents of Struthers and Lowellville, but it also helps to boost the local economies by bringing visitors into the areas.

Iudiciani said both Lowellville and Struthers now have boat rental companies. He said such entertainment ventures have proven to create a partnership between the village and the city.

“They’ll drop them off in Struthers and then pick them up in Lowellville, or they’ll drop them off in Lowellville and pick them up down in New Castle,” Iudiciani said. “It helps the restaurants, it helps the convenience store that’s there, Ross’ Market, where they sell bait for fishing, which is growing as well. It’s been very impactful.”

TRUMBULL COUNTY

Mondok said the next structure set to be demolished along the Mahoning River is the Summit Street dam in Warren.

The dam is set to be demolished sometime this year. The contract for the demolition is worth more than $3 million, and the project is to be funded 100% with dollars from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and state capital appropriations money obtained through Eastgate, according to newspaper archives.

In December, Eastgate was the lead applicant for a $155.7 million grant through the state’s Appalachian Community Grant Program to help fund projects in Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana and Ashtabula counties.

Of that $155.7 million, $28 million was requested for peninsula redevelopment in Warren, with $9.5 million in matching funds committed.

Fund for Warren’s Future and the city want to develop the peninsula to consist of more than 200 market-rate housing units and more than 100,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, including the potential for a parking deck, hotel, extended stay living and a food hall.

“A lot of our application was trying to match the office of Appalachia’s goals of promoting transformational downtown development as well as job creation,” Warren Mayor Doug Franklin said. “We sort of targeted those projects that would enhance what we want to do on the peninsula as it relates on our river.”

Franklin said the city and Fund for Warren’s Future want to connect the peninsula to its park system. He said that connection would lead to an “excellent, natural segway,” to the city’s trail system, which it wants to continue to develop alongside the river.

“Part of the proposal is to connect a pedestrian bridge from the peninsula to Perkins Park,” Franklin said. “From there, we already have a natural riverwalk in Perkins Park. We want to tie that to Packard and Burbank parks, all along the river.”

Such a riverside trail would allow the city to seamlessly connect three of its parks, Perkins, Burbank and Packard, much like what the Cleveland Metroparks are working towards on its Columbus Road peninsula.

Warren has considered other opportunities for recreation on the Mahoning outside of the river of opportunity plan.

In November, city officials met with representatives from Fund for Warren’s Future, Eastgate and MS Consultants to discuss potential river amenities.

Renderings showed the river with newly added riffle features to allow for activities such as tubing or rafting, as well as installed beaches and added access points to the river.

Franklin said the riffle park idea was pitched to be added to the application, but he said there would have to be other funding sources.

“The cost was so high,” Franklin said. “It is something that we do have some preliminary renderings and some designs of that we would like to put in place in the future if funding were available.”

Franklin said the construction of a pedestrian bridge as well as more trails along the Mahoning River would be a great step toward increasing natural access for Warren residents.

“It would almost make the river a destination point for recreation,” he said. “Canoeing, kayaking, fishing, along with some of the other amenities, would be a boost to all of the development opportunities that we’re working (toward) on the peninsula.”

The Appalachian grant application also included $3.5 million for downtown riverfront revitalization in Niles. The city would provide a $480,000 grant match.

Regarding river development in the city, the document from Eastgate details a kayak launch, a connection to proposed walking trails, a riverside picnic area and a sheltered amphitheater.

According to the Niles comprehensive plan, the city wants to see a riverfront park developed within one to three years.

Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz said the kayak launch site will be at the corner of East First and Brown streets.

Mientkiewicz said the River of Opportunity plan called for a side path to come off of the Western Reserve Greenway bike trail in Niles and head west to the planned kayak launch site.

“The city owns a substantial amount of undeveloped property on the south side of the river that would be conducive to that project,” Mientkiewicz said. “However, there are a couple small parcels the city would have to acquire to complete that broken segment.”

Mientkiewicz said through the River of Opportunity plan, the city hopes to better take advantage of its closeness to the Mahoning River.

“Water attracts people,” Mientkiewicz said. “We’ve identified through the River of Opportunity plan that the waterways through the city, most importantly the Mahoning River, what we’ve identified is the lack of upkeep and maintenance to these waterways. People don’t even know these waterways exist. You can’t see them, everything is so overgrown. The whole theory of the River of Opportunity plan was to open up the shorelines of the river so people can actually see it, utilize it and allow it to be a draw for local residents and people (from) out of town.”

RETURN TO HOME

“If you think about the role that these rivers have played in the history and the development of Youngstown and Cleveland, that’s where our first settlements occurred, that’s where industry sprouted, that’s where we connected our canals,” McDermott said. “So bringing the public back there and providing public access is somewhat of a return to home.”

In the Valley, Mondok said the Mahoning River can play multiple roles in future of Trumbull and Mahoning counties, much as it did years ago.

He said in the past, it was used as an economic generator to support the steel industry.

“But now that that time has passed, and that’s no longer a need,” he said. “We’re trying to look ahead of how we can utilize it for what it is now.”

Mondok said the first step is removing the “scars” of the river’s past, whether it be sediments from past industrial use or the several dams still standing.

Mondok said Eastgate has looked to other communities throughout Ohio to see how they have turned their rivers into assets.

He said cities like Cleveland and Akron have the Towpath Trail, which follows the former route of the Ohio and Erie Canal. He called the Towpath Trail a “beautiful and scenic experience” and a great quality of life asset.

“There’s no reason we can’t have those same things here,” Mondok said.

Mondok said Eastgate is still waiting on a response to the grant application, but that the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Governor’s Office of Appalachia are targeting February for an announcement.

“So we shouldn’t have to wait too much longer for an answer as to whether we’ve been funded or not,” Mondok said.

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