YOUNGSTOWN Transit authority to buy, demolish former Salvation Army building

The Mahoning Avenue office project really is the second of three big ones.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The paint is a fresh white. The trim is a wide blue stripe and new logos.
The colors brighten up the formerly drab Western Reserve Transit Authority headquarters on Mahoning Avenue.
But the paint job, soon to include a mural of three buses, isn't the only striking change planned for the headquarters, located on one of downtown's main entry points.
The transit authority wants to buy and demolish the neighboring former Salvation Army building by the end of next year, said Don Meszaros, WRTA's maintenance director.
The move would vastly improve the look of the main gateway into downtown from the West Side.
The Salvation Army closed the building three years ago. The location housed the agency's alcohol- and drug-rehabilitation services and a thrift store. Officials at the Salvation Army's corporate headquarters said the thrift store wasn't financially supporting the services.
Downtown image
Eliminating the depressed-looking building, combined with facade improvements being done now to the headquarters, shows the public that WRTA cares about the city and downtown, Meszaros said.
People didn't really notice the bland earth-tone color that had covered WRTA buildings since 1984, he said. The buildings blended in with the nearby hillside that supports a rail trestle, he said.
"That was the color of the '80s," he said.
But every day, many people pass through the gateway to downtown, known as Mahoning Commons. Morning rush-hour traffic backs up a half mile from the signal in front of the Salvation Army building to the Interstate 680 on-ramp, he said.
"We want to present an image that we do care," Meszaros said. "We think people are going to like what they see here. It's really going to look nice when it's done."
Plans for property
WRTA's administrative offices and garages are sandwiched between the rail trestle and the old Salvation Army building. The spot leaves no room for expansion.
The hulking Salvation Army structure sits just to the west of the Spring Commons bridge across the rail tracks from the B & amp;O Station Restaurant.
WRTA isn't sure what it will do with the new property if a deal is worked out, Meszaros said.
The authority needs more office space, he said. Computers take up much more room than when the headquarters was built in 1984, he said.
New space also would give buses more efficient and safe access to Mahoning Avenue, Meszaros said. A left turn can be dangerous now, he said.
Improvements this fall to the Mahoning Avenue offices and garages totaling $675,000 really are the second of three main WRTA renovation projects, he said. The Salvation Army property would be the third.
The first phase, a recently completed renovation of the transit authority's terminal on Federal Street, started in 1998 and cost about $750,000.
Besides the $160,000 paint job on its Mahoning buildings, this fall WRTA is replacing its sidewalks and driveway approaches and spending about $500,000 replacing the nearly 20-year-old heating- and air-conditioning systems.
rgsmith@vindy.com