More new housing rises in Youngstown
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YOUNGSTOWN -- On certain occasions, neighborhood-stabilization and blight-remediation efforts, along with efforts to improve overall quality of life, feature a 15-foot rectangular hole filled with a large load of stones.
"It badly needs to be done," Mary Krupa, 70, said.
Krupa was referring in part to a new Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. home that will be built at 3318 Sheridan Road in the city's Powerstown neighborhood, which is part of the 7th Ward. She also was happy to see a two-story home next door at 3310 Sheridan undergoing major renovations.
The two addresses were the sites of a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday afternoon to usher in the new residence, which is among the nine YNDC homes in the area and nearby Brownlee Woods that are in various stages of construction.
Krupa, who has lived most of the time in the nearby Neilson Avenue home her family bought in 1961, said she's grateful for the construction and rehabilitation projects, both of which will be "invigorating for the neighborhood for sure, and stabilize it and bring it up again. It's kind of a domino effect."
The work will reverse the trend in the area for the last 10 or 15 years in which few, if any, key improvements have been made, Krupa said, adding she hopes that responsible homeowners who know proper ways to maintain their properties will move to the neighborhood.
The latest developments are part of a spate of groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings YNDC and its partners have spearheaded in recent weeks that include eight new homes in Struthers as well as several on Youngstown's East Side. Earlier this month, a groundbreaking ceremony for a new YNDC home took place on South Belle Vista Avenue on the West Side.
The additional nine YNDC homes under construction include several on Sheridan Road, along with ones on Country Club, Chattanooga and Meadowbrook avenues in Brownlee Woods, Ian Beniston, YNDC's executive director, noted.
The YNDC and its partners, including the Mahoning County Land Bank, also are on the front lines of numerous rehabilitation and infrastructure projects throughout the city and surroundings.
The single-family home at 3318 Sheridan Road, as well as the other nine, will include at least three bedrooms, an open-concept living room, kitchen and dining room area, a laundry space, a front porch and a two-car garage. The homes will be listed for sale upon completion, and they will include a 100%, 15-year tax abatement on new construction.
In addition, American Rescue Plan funds from the city are being used to support the Sheridan Road project, Beniston noted.
"This is what I would call a broader neighborhood stabilization effort in this neighborhood," he said, adding, "I'm extremely grateful to see the fruits of our labor here."
Beniston was unable to provide a precise cost figure for the home, but said it likely will be in the $200,000 range.
The YNDC has spent the past 15 years working with neighborhood organizations, homeowner groups and other neighborhood partners in the area. At that time, most efforts were in boarding up derelict homes, Beniston remembered.
Also, the YNDC acquired from Huntington Bank the vacant two-story structure at 3310 Sheridan Road, which had gone through foreclosure, he continued. That home is receiving major renovations that include new vinyl siding.
The Sheridan Road project fulfills a promise of "progress, not perfection," and represents a community that has largely replaced despair with progress, Mayor Derrick McDowell said in his remarks Thursday.
In addition, the effort symbolizes a significant move for some people to move up from renting a home to affordable housing, he added.
"We are Youngstown; we are built by grit. We know how to work with what we're given in Youngstown," McDowell continued.
Another key neighborhood improvement is replacing infrastructure, some of which is at least 100 years old, with new upgrades, city Councilwoman Amber White, I-7th Ward, noted. She added that many derelict properties are undergoing blight-remediation efforts.
Another home in the area that was to be razed will instead be restored, thanks largely to philanthropic funds, Roger Smith of the MCLB said.
Krupa added that a contributor to her neighborhood's long-term decline has been a lack of code enforcement because of personnel reductions in that department. Nevertheless, she was buoyed to see the ongoing visible improvements that extend beyond the construction, such as Sheridan Road having been paved and new sidewalks added.