Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Generation X Contractors LLC demolished the South High Fieldhouse in mid-April. The well-known fieldhouse at 1840 Erie St. opened in 1940 and was used by Youngstown State University, then Youngstown College, and South High School, which closed in 1993, for basketball games and numerous other events. The cost of the demolition went up by 40% after asbestos was discovered under the flooring.

YOUNGSTOWN — The asbestos abatement and demolition of the former South High Fieldhouse ended up costing 40% more than the approved contract.

That’s because mastic — an adhesive for flooring tiles that contains asbestos — was discovered under the facility’s floor during demolition, said Michael Durkin, the city’s code enforcement and blight remediation superintendent.

“We didn’t see it because we couldn’t get under the floor when the project was being prepared,” Durkin said. “It was found when demolition was being done so they had to take out the whole thing, which added to the cost.”

Generation X Contractors LLC of Youngstown was awarded the fieldhouse contract March 27 by the city’s board of control with a proposal to do the work for $113,876.

The removal of the floor tiling through a live loading — a specialized and costly method — increased the project’s cost by $45,000. That’s a 40% increase.

“It’s expensive as it has to be done by hand,” said Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works. “There was additional asbestos under the floor that we couldn’t see when doing engineering.”

The city’s board of control approved the $45,000 increase Friday.

Even with the additional expense, the project’s final cost of $158,876 was considerably lower than the $262,180 estimate.

The project began in April and was finished earlier this month.

The once-iconic fieldhouse at 1840 Erie St. opened in 1940 and was used by Youngstown State University, then Youngstown College, and South High School, which closed in 1993, for basketball games and numerous other events. The fieldhouse also hosted other activities and shows, but it hadn’t been used in about 15 years, falling into disrepair.

City Council on Dec. 4 voted to appropriate $301,000 from the city’s demolition fund for the work and agreed to use $38,817 as the city match to a state grant for planning, inspection and construction administration services. Council voted Feb. 19 to seek proposals to demolish the fieldhouse.

The city will declare the property surplus and sell the site to the Valley Legends Stadium Consortium, which is part of Valley Christian Schools, for the Mahoning County auditor’s appraised value of $64,460.

The group has proposed to spend $9 million to construct a 3,000-seat stadium with a turf football field and track in two phases. Valley Christian is working to raise the money for the project.

Valley Christian expects to break ground in the summer and have the facility ready by spring 2026.

WORK NEAR SCHOOLS

ALSO APPROVED

The board of control on Friday also approved a $238,000 contract for Daniel A. Terreri & Sons of Youngstown for a project to make improvements near two Youngstown schools.

The work won’t cost the city any money as it received a $300,000 state Safe Routes to School program grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation.

The city’s estimate for the work was $295,836.

Work on the project will start this summer and take 30 to 60 days to complete.

The work is near Volney Rogers Elementary School, a K-5 school at 310 S. Schenley Road, and Youngstown Preschool, the former Kirkmere Elementary School at 2841 Kirk Road.

The work includes installing barrier-free curb ramps that are compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the removal and replacement of concrete sidewalks, pavement markings and the installation of school traffic control signs.

With this grant, Youngstown has received more than $1 million in state Routes to School funds for projects near various schools in the city since the program began in 2015.

The state program provides $5 million annually in funding to make improvements near schools in Ohio to encourage students to walk or ride their bicycles there.