Park upgrades unveiled
Officials celebrate new B&O Station renovations
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YOUNGSTOWN -- The city is a little bit more beautiful, and public officials gathered on Wednesday to celebrate the efforts that made it that way.
Dignitaries from across the Mahoning Valley met at Spring Commons Park, in front of the B&O Station, to cut the ribbon on a new outdoor recreation space.
This is the third ribbon cutting of 10 that will take place through the end of October, all along the Mahoning River, with the intention of cleaning up the waterway, expanding recreational access and connecting multiple local communities.
"I know there's a handful of people in this crowd that remember coming out here about eight years ago, there was none of this here, and we navigated the riverbank and got kayaks in the river, and we talked about getting the dams out of the river," said James Kinnick, executive director of the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, which has spearheaded the project. "And then we talked about beautifying the riverbanks and (upgrading) the entryways in different communities along the river...and this was the vision. And it's just refreshing, and it's an honor to be part of a project -- a group of projects...that come along, that just enhance the communities along the river."
In May 2024, Youngstown received $3,891,475 through the Ohio Department of Development's Appalachian Regional Commission Community Grant Program -- money that originated with the federal American Rescue Plan. Two months earlier, city council spent $48,000 in the city's own ARP money to replace the wooden walkway and steps leading to the Spring Commons deck with concrete.
Eastgate administered the Appalachian grant and paid for design work and tree clearing, but in August 2025 the city took over the remaining construction phase through a subrecipient agreement with Eastgate.
At that point, the remaining project was estimated at $2.978 million, with up to $2.315 million available for actual construction. The contract was awarded to Marucci & Gaffney Excavating for $1,974,317 in December of that year.
Youngstown recently added $38,695 in electrical upgrades, bringing the total project cost to $2,042,726
The completed project includes a new dock for canoe and kayak access, parking improvements, a concrete riverside walkway from Spring Commons and B&O to the West Avenue boat launch, picnic and gathering areas, stone retaining walls, a small pergola; utility/electrical upgrades; and a new restroom facility outside the banquet hall.
Catherine Arroyo, owner and chef at the B&O Station and daddy D's Catering, said the project also allowed for improvements to the B&O Banquet Hall facility, including a new roof and new windows and HVAC, as well as kitchen upgrades.
"Thank you, everyone who saw the vision, who saw the potential. I know this means so much to my family and myself. We poured ourselves into this property, my family more so, over...their whole lives. So just to see this, it's so much more than just what it brings to the community," she said. "This building, this historic building, will be part of Youngstown's continued legacy."
"John Carey, the director of the Governor's Office of Appalachia within the Ohio Department of Development, represented the administration on Wednesday.
"What made this project stand out from the others that Jim just mentioned up and down the Mahoning River is that they were collaborative," he said. "So it's just not one thing, just for Youngstown, which is great, that you're connecting all the other communities...on the Mahoning River with all of the Mahoning Valley. And you've succeeded in that."
Kinnick said there is more work to be done.
"We still have three more dams in the Mahoning River to go. There were nine originally.
The three left are in Youngstown. We're working to have those under a construction contract to remove them next year. And then the plan was always to remove the dams, reclaim the river, and then the river cleans itself," he said. "We dredge behind the dams to take out toxic materials, if we find any. We want to really focus our economic development growth in this region and these communities along the river by highlighting the river and its amenities."
In addition to the amenities already on display Wednesday, City Councilwoman Samantha Turner announced that, as part of its participation in the America 250 celebration, the city is also going to plant an oak tree in the fall to commemorate the anniversary, and celebrate Ohio's and Youngstown's contributions to the nation's history.
Youngstown Parks and Recreation Director Clemate Franklin said the new space is among the first of many improvements Mayor Derrick McDowell's administration hopes to bring about.
"You guys, this is what evolution looks like," he said. "Creating these safe spaces in our parks and rec...you know, we change this green space here, and we upgrade it, because Youngstown deserves it. And that's going to be my words until the day I die, Youngstown deserves it."