DOWNTOWN Cityscape: a gateway to more revitalization

The notion of a different, larger organization emerged early this year.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Downtown's grass-roots beautification program is growing in a big way.
The Streetscape group is expanding from its central business district focus to include gateways into downtown.
Meanwhile, Streetscape also will become part of a new nonprofit agency called Youngstown Cityscape. The new agency will pair beautification efforts with education on preservation issues.
Youngstown Cityscape and its missions were to be announced this morning.
"This is an opportunity to do a whole lot more," said Scott Schulick, chairman of Streetscape and a Youngstown Cityscape board member.
Youngstown Cityscape envisions raising money for an approximately $110,000 annual budget and recruiting many more volunteers, he said. The agency expects to hire a part-time director to coordinate all activities, Schulick said.
The idea is to make improvements to a few of the city's main corridors this spring in addition to the annual downtown cleanup, he said. More corridors will be added as money and volunteers allow, he said.
Background
Youngstown Cityscape is an evolution of the Downtown Revitalization Committee, established in 1997 with preservation as an emphasis. Streetscape was an arm of the committee but its work had come to overshadow its parent.
The notion of a different, larger organization emerged early this year.
Schulick said David Sweet, Youngstown State University president, raised the need for a group to address gateways near YSU. A group of about 70 community leaders started meeting in March, talking about melding that need with Streetscape's success, Schulick said. Creating an organization in addition to Streetscape didn't seem necessary, he said.
"We're all chasing the same dollar," Schulick said. "This is the approach that needed to be taken."
The result is a nonprofit agency with a 19-member board of leaders from across the community.
Sweet said Youngstown Cityscape embraces the concept of the Youngstown 2010 plan for the city's future.
"We have a solid plan," he said. "Now what we have to do is muster the wherewithal to implement the plan."
Preservation
Youngstown Cityscape also recognizes the need to seriously consider preservation as part of downtown revitalization, Sweet said.
Sweet said he understands the frustration of having buildings vacant for years. But he said the new agency needs to educate local officials on how preserving such buildings is a sound economic move.
Cities that have made comebacks have done it using their old buildings, he said.
One of the first educational pushes will be mixers each semester that include YSU students studying urban sociology and architecture, said Holly Burnett of the Downtown Revitalization Committee.
The effort is a signal of how Youngstown Cityscape will build on the revitalization partnerships already struck around town, she said.
"There's a lot more synergy here. There's a whole lot of connecting going on in the city right now," she said. "It's very hopeful. It's very encouraging."