REVITALIZATION Prospective business owners note downtown redevelopment

Downtown is in a turnaround mode, lawyer says.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Now is an opportune time for business people to get in on the ground floor in establishing a business downtown, according to a leader of an advocacy organization for downtown redevelopment.
"You get in now, and here's where you can start to make it. I think that people are going to be kicking themselves if they don't get into Youngstown now," said Atty. Jeffrey A. Kurz, legal counsel for the Youngstown Arts and Entertainment District Association.
"It's only going to be a matter of time before this area picks itself back up and then it's going to be a lot more costly to get into downtown Youngstown," Kurz said.
Next week's groundbreaking for the convocation center, the forthcoming completion in December of the re-opening of Federal Street, the recent opening of the Core dance club, the ongoing construction of the new Mahoning County Children Services Building, and the forthcoming construction of a new theater next to Edward W. Powers Auditorium bode well for downtown's future, he said.
"It lends itself to becoming a business strip," Kurz said of downtown.
Business development expo
To help prospective downtown business owners, the association sponsored its second business development expo of the year Monday in the Ohio One Building auditorium.
Business people had an opportunity to speak with representatives of banks, advertising and economic development agencies and architectural firms that can provide assistance in starting or relocating a business. Economic development agency representatives offered information about incentive programs for minority and female-owned businesses.
One of the prospective business owners in attendance was Chris Smallwood, 28, of Liberty, who said he wants to establish a downtown restaurant. Smallwood, a 1994 East High School graduate, now works as a die maker at the DaimlerChrysler plant in Twinsburg.
"It seems like business is going to pick up and a lot of new business is coming downtown, and it seems like they're trying to fix up the area," Smallwood said. "I just want to be part of it.
"It's the center of the city, and what better place than right in the middle of Youngstown," he said of downtown. Smallwood said he would encourage others with dreams of opening their own businesses to consider locating in downtown Youngstown.