Staff photo / Andy Gray Carrie Leonard, left, director of communications and operations for LOOP Youngstown Arts + Culture Center, and Karen Schubert, chair of LOOP’s board, stand outside the former Comfort Keepers offices at 805 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown, which is the new home for the center.

YOUNGSTOWN — After a three-year search, LOOP Youngstown Art + Culture Center has a home.

The nonprofit arts organization signed paperwork this week to purchase the building at 805 Mahoning Ave. for $325,000 It was built in 1946 as an automobile showroom for Mirkin Auto Sales and later was home to Comfort Keepers, a home health care service provider.

Karen Schubert, who chairs LOOP’s board, said they looked at many buildings in the region since she and Youngstown photographer Tony Nicholas had a conversation in late 2022 about the need for an arts hub in the Mahoning Valley.

“I think we have the kind of project that could fit into many different kinds of spaces,” Schubert said. “We looked at so many different kinds of buildings, which was really fun, but there were various problems. Some of the buildings were priced pretty high, and some of them had a million dollars in repairs (needed) on day one, and we just couldn’t see our way forward.”

When it appeared some of the federal funding sources they were counting on would be curtailed, LOOP pivoted to offering arts-related workshops at different locations in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. However, the search continued, and one of LOOP’s members suggested the Mahoning Avenue building.

The site won’t allow for a performance space — which was part of LOOP’s original wish list — but it can accommodate many of its goals.

“We were so ambitious in our dreaming, no single building would hold all those parts, but a lot of them will happen here,” Schubert said. “You have both raw spaces for kilns and other kinds of work that will be dusty, and then you have these wonderful interior office spaces for studios. And there are, there are going to be up to 30 studios available for rent. It’s such a great neighborhood. There’s already so much in the neighborhood. There’s been a lot of investment in this area, so it just seems like a really exciting time to be doing this.”

Since signing the paperwork on Monday, six of the studio spaces have been rented, Schubert said, and she had several appointments scheduled with other interested artists. One tenant took three spaces and will take out the walls to create one large gallery. Since it originally was an auto showroom, those interior walls aren’t load-bearing and can be removed without impacting the structural integrity of the building.

There are cosmetic flaws, such as the tracks visible on the wood floors from the wheelchairs used by Comfort Keepers clients, but no major renovations are needed. Once contacts are signed, tenants can start using their studios.

“We had a very thorough 30-page inspection,” Schubert said. “Bridgeway Capital’s team came in and looked it over really closely. There are minor things, but it really looks pretty solid. You know, there’s a toilet broken, but I mean, really, it looks just pretty solid. As much as you can know about a building, we’re getting some really good feedback.”

Open studio events where LOOP artists will be able to show and sell their work will take place on a monthly basis once more artists locate there. LOOP also wants to provide the knowledge and resources to help artists tap into the various grant options and competitive awards available to them.

One of the ways LOOP Youngstown is raising money to cover the cost of the building and the operating expenses is through sponsorships of the individual studio. Businesses and individuals who contribute $5,000 to sponsor a studio will have their name on a plaque outside of the space and receive additional perks.

Schubert said they also are seeking sponsors for a fellowship program.

“We would like to start an emerging fellowship program where four artists would have free space for a year and some material support, and some mentoring and connecting to resources,” she said. “They would also curate an exhibit.”

The first $5,000 donation to sponsor a studio came from KO Consulting, although Schubert said some earlier LOOP donors will be grandfathered in as studio sponsors.

In a statement released when the donation was made, KO owner and CEO Kristen Olmi called ventures like LOOP economic drivers for the city and said, “It is critical that Youngstown continue to invest in understanding the connection between economic development and the arts — in many strategic forms. We believe in this project, just as the LOOP believes in us. Supporting it is value-driven to the work we do, and we are happy to do it.”