Now open for business: Federal Street

YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's 1st Ward councilman said he hopes the reopening of Federal Street will encourage a drugstore and grocery store to locate downtown.
As the rains poured Tuesday, city officials, dignitaries and the public huddled under a tent on Federal Plaza to hear congratulatory speeches from those instrumental in reopening one of the downtown's main thoroughfares.
Councilman Artis Gillam, D-1st, whose ward includes the downtown area, said that 15 years ago, he was approached by a Vindicator reporter for an interview, and the reporter asked him what the No. 1 problem in Youngstown was.
Gillam answered that it was self-image. "The opening of this square to two-way traffic will improve the city's self-image," said Gillam, who lobbied hard to reopen Federal Street.
He said he would like to see a drugstore and grocery store opened in the downtown soon to continue the city's revitalization efforts.
Other projects
City officials said the reopening coincides with work on the Youngstown Convocation Center between the South Avenue and Market Street bridges and construction of the new Mahoning County Children Services Board building on Federal Street.
Mayor George McKelvey said the pedestrian mall on Federal Street represented Youngstown's past, but the reopening bodes well for the central city's future.
"Today, we celebrate an improved traffic flow and improved parking on Federal Street," the mayor said.
Closed in November
Federal Street was closed in November 1973 to build a pedestrian mall with trees and fountains. Over the years, the mall did little to attract new business to downtown and, by the 1990s, had deteriorated.
The mayor thanked former Congressman James A. Traficant Jr. for helping to get 72 percent of the $2.9 million project's cost, adding that without Traficant's efforts, reopening Federal Street and the central square would not have been undertaken. State and federal grants financed the restoration.
The Ohio Department of Development, Eastgate Regional Council of Goverments, and the city's Economic Development Department and Community Development Agency also contributed money toward the project.
It was the state development department that came up with the $500,000 needed to complete the job. Julie Michaels-Smith from the department said the department does not usually get involved in projects such as the reopening. The department normally works with promoting industrial parks throughout the state, she said.
She said, however, that backing for the Federal Street project resonated from the community. "We heard from bankers and business leaders about the project's importance to the city," she added.
City Engineer Carmen Conglose Jr. also thanked the Ohio Department of Transportation for helping get the project off the ground, and thanked the contractor and construction and design engineers for working closely with city officials to make sure the project came in on time and on budget.
Quotable
Claire Maluso, the city's Federal Plaza director, said, "Today we are celebrating change and looking forward to the future."
She also thanked Tony and Mary LaRiccia of Boardman for their continued efforts to fund a permanent white lighting program for the central square. The lighting program, also supported by the city and the business community, began last year, and the formal lighting of the square takes place at 4 p.m. Saturday.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, city officials and other dignitaries got on the WRTA trolley to take the first ride along the reopened street, which features about 100 angled parking spaces on East and West Federal streets.