Correspondent photo / Sean Barron This groundbreaking took place Tuesday on Mumford Circle in Youngstown, where a new 1,600-square-foot home will be built, courtesy of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and other partners. Among those digging in was Mayor Derrick McDowell, second from right.

YOUNGSTOWN — It may be merely a large hole filled with recent rainwater, but it’s pleasing Marguerite Douglas a whole lot.

“Having these new homes means we’re growing,” she said.

Douglas was referring to the beginning of building a new 1,600-square-foot home in the 200 block of Mumford Circle on the East Side, for which construction will soon get underway, courtesy of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., the Mahoning County Land Bank, the city and other partners.

The future structure was the site of a groundbreaking Tuesday morning to celebrate what many see as another positive step toward revitalizing and bettering the neighborhood — and, on a larger scale, the city as a whole.

Douglas, who has lived on nearby Eliot Lane for nearly 30 years, said she’s grateful to see such development in the area largely because it also serves as a conduit for an infusion of new residents who can bring fresh ideas and suggestions for the neighborhoods’ betterment. In the bigger picture, such projects have the power to lead to new initiatives and new energy for unifying people, said Douglas, who also served three terms on YNDC’s board of directors.

Also Tuesday, a similar groundbreaking took place at a YNDC home on Liberty Road on the other side of nearby McKelvey Lake, Ian Beniston, YNDC’s executive director, noted.

Douglas expressed pleasure that the construction will tie into the Lincoln Knolls Community Park on nearby Maranatha Court, which was dedicated in mid-2019 and made possible by a $100,000 Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley grant. The park serves as a place where “people come together,” she said.

The ranch-style structures on Liberty Road and Mumford Circle will offer three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, an open concept kitchen, living and dining rooms, first-floor laundry areas, front porches and attached, two-car garages. In addition, they will include 100%, 15-year tax abatements on new construction from the city, Beniston said, adding that the homes likely will sell for between $200,000 and $250,000.

The Mumford Circle project is part of a slew of other YNDC-related ones across the city, including the completion of four new homes on Maranatha Court and Beechwood Drive, on which is one home that recently sold for $225,000, Beniston said. Also, Tuesday’s groundbreaking comes at the same time several dozen YNDC homes throughout Youngstown are under construction, he continued.

“It will be a great home for a new homeowner,” Beniston added, referring to the Mumford Circle project that also was funded via American Rescue Plan dollars through the city.

Beniston predicted that the Mumford Circle home will likely be finished toward year’s end.

Joe Koch Construction Inc. of Youngstown is the builder.

Homebuyers, along with those interested in purchasing such homes and who have a bank loan or other financing, come from diverse backgrounds, Beniston said, adding that the YNDC has been renovating homes for a number of years in the Mumford Circle neighborhood and on nearby streets.

The construction and revitalization efforts also chip away at the perception that the East Side is the “forgotten-about” section of the city while fortifying the fact that it belongs to everybody, Mayor Derrick McDowell said in his remarks Tuesday.

In addition, such development might be slow, but it’s intentional,and the work bolsters the notion that no one must be or feel left behind, he added.

“That’s the same as putting our money where our mouth is,” McDowell continued.

It’s vital that being “creative and collaborative” are mainstays of the building and revitalizing processes, Deb Flora, the land bank’s executive director, said. Housing is about the individual buyer, but is a community asset as well, she added.

The homes being built and rehabilitated on the East Side also have the built-in effect of replacing recurring negative perceptions of that part of the city with a stronger sense of pride, city Councilman Jimmy Hughes, D-2nd Ward, noted.

“I’m a happy camper,” Hughes said, adding, “I’m extremely excited about it. This is one gorgeous step forward.”

Since 2021, Joe Koch Construction has partnered with the YNDC and has worked with the organization on more than 50 homes in the ensuing years, Joe Koch Jr. said.