Board expected to approve huge redevelopment plan
The cost of the project isestimated at $250 million.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Margaret L. Murphy envisions a thriving neighborhood in the city's Wick District-Smoky Hollow area with housing, retail stores, offices and high-technology companies with walkways to Youngstown State University.
While the vision is probably years from fruition, Murphy, Wick Neighbors Inc.'s executive director, isn't sitting around waiting for it to happen.
Wick's board of trustees is expected to approve an ambitious redevelopment plan today, and a public meeting on the proposal is set for 5 p.m. today at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Via Mount Carmel.
"We're viewed as a key component and the catalyst of the city's 2010 plan," Murphy said. "We're laying out the model for other organizations in Youngstown to use. The city wants to see Wick Neighborhood groups on all sides of the city. The community believes in this project."
The organization paid $200,000 to CT Consultants, a Willoughby-based company with an office in Austintown, to do surface and subsurface engineering studies of the 66-acre Wick District-Smoky Hollow area.
The study recommended all water, sanitary and storm sewer lines in the area be replaced because of their age and the layout of the lines.
The organization also hired City Architecture of Cleveland for $25,000 to do initial design work for the project.
Money for CT and City Architecture came from private donors and foundations.
Infrastructure costs
The CT study states that about $12.5 million is needed for infrastructure work on the 66 acres. Wick Neighbors intends to seek state and federal funding for infrastructure improvements, Murphy said.
If the infrastructure improvements can be made, investors will be interested in being a part of the Wick Neighbors vision of a $250 million revitalization project, she said.
The project's completion is years away, but Murphy is interested in getting it started. The goal is to construct the first homes and renovate other homes by next year, she said.
"We've had informal conversations with developers," Murphy said. "Our role is to be a catalyst to developers."
Wick Neighbors has worked closely with the institutions in the area -- such as the library, churches, museums and Youngstown State University -- on the project, Murphy said. YSU owns about 70 percent of the property in the 66-acre site while the city owns about 8 percent of it, she said.
The area is bounded by Wick, Andrews, Rayen and Madison avenues.
The goal is to tie that area to the university with walkways, Murphy said.
Zoning hurdles
The current zoning for the land makes Wick Neighbors' plan difficult to implement. The organization will ask the city to change the area's zoning to mixed-use so it can use it for residential housing, business and commercial, she said.
"We're looking for flexibility from the city," Murphy said.
City approval could take several months, she said.
The plan calls for up to 500 homes, including condominiums, townhouses, loft apartments and single-family homes, as well as 44,000 square feet of retail development, and 250,000 square feet of commercial high-tech facilities, she said.
The proposal also includes redeveloping Harrison Field into Harrison Commons, which would have green space from Walnut to Harrison streets. The area could be used for concerts, sporting events, shows and a farmers market, Murphy said.
The Wick District-Smoky Hollow area thrived from the turn of the 20th century to about the 1950s, Murphy said. The area declined during the 1960s and '70s, much like many Youngstown neighborhoods, she said.
The area includes 22 occupied households but consists mainly of vacant land and structures, Murphy said.
skolnick@vindy.com