Monday, July 21, 2003
Sixteen more housing units will be restored by next year, coalition officials say.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
The intricately carved front door swings open to reveal a grand entryway. A cherry wood staircase with dozens of ornate spindles graces one side, an antique fireplace and its massive mantel is visible through a doorway on the other.
New cherry cabinets, a ceramic tile floor and sparkling new countertops grace the kitchen. Pocket doors separate the dining room from the living room. Freshly polished hardwood floors prevail throughout, as does the lavish wood trim, beautifully refinished, around every window.
Although it is almost 100 years old, the house at 1226 Florencedale Ave. in Youngstown, for the most part, is brand new, restored to its turn-of-the 20th century grandeur but with all the modern conveniences a 21st-century homeowner could hope for: whirlpool tub, walk-in closet, Internet access, climate control, security system, automatic garage door.
"I had no intention of buying a house one year ago, but I wandered over last fall and fell in love with it," said Theresa Strines, a 27-year-old fourth-grade teacher who grew up in the Youngstown area and recently moved back home after teaching school in Virginia.
She closed on a deal to buy the Florencedale Avenue property earlier this week.
Renovations
Strines first noticed the house last fall when the North Side Citizens' Coalition for Community Development Inc. began renovating the property.
At that time, the two-story, three-bedroom house was barely visible through the overgrown brush. Dead ivy clung to what was left of the chipping, drab-brown paint, pillars holding up the roof over the front porch were about to collapse, and the water pipes had disintegrated.
Now, after more than $160,000 in renovations, the house is a jewel in the historic neighborhood surrounding Wick Park and a good investment for Strines, who plans to move into the home with her fianc & eacute;, Khepri Polite, as soon as possible.
Declining to say how much she paid for the house -- "It was under $100,000," Strines said she expects her investment to appreciate. Her new neighbors expect their property values to increase too.
Strines' new house is the first of many in the area that will be renovated by the nonprofit community development corporation in cooperation with Youngstown State University and the city of Youngstown.
Work has already begun on houses at 25 Indiana Ave. and 130 Madison Ave., said Talut Rasul, coalition executive director. "We will complete 16 housing units between now and this time next year."
Upgrading areas
Fully aware that renovating a single home in a deteriorated neighborhood will not revitalize the community, Rasul said the coalition is taking an approach of renovating areas -- replacing broken sidewalks and curbs in blocks where the organization renovates a house -- and helping neighbors improve their properties by providing free paint and landscaping improvements at 25 percent of their actual cost.
The owners of three homes in the block where Strines' house sits, including one next door, have already taken advantage of the landscaping program, he said, and others are waiting for paint.
Carol Bergschneider, who lives across the street from Strines' house, is planning to take advantage of the free paint.
She and her husband, Dave Soldo, an instructor at YSU, bought their house last November and have been fixing it up ever since. Soldo also owns two rental properties in the same block.
"This is a wonderful little street, very neighborly," Bergschneider said, "and the people are real happy about these improvements." She said she expects the value of her property to appreciate with the improvements in the neighborhood.
Revitalizing neighborhoods requires the development -- or renovation -- of housing that will attract families with a variety of incomes, Rasul said. Unlike some programs that stipulate minimum and maximum income requirements for potential buyers, there was no maximum income requirement for Strines' house. The only stipulation, Rasul said, is that she must live there at least seven years.
That obligation will be easy to meet, Strines said, her green eyes twinkling. "I love this house. I showed up on the doorstep [before it was put up for sale] and you can't get rid of me. I'll still be here in seven years."
The North Side Citizens' Coalition will celebrate its 25th anniversary at a Park Avenue block party Aug. 29.
For information about renovated homes that will be available for sale, call (330) 941-4722.
kubik@vindy.com