Plan seeks new life with old charm

The plan suggests looking into the business incubator concept.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The city's newly unveiled downtown revitalization plan focuses on helping businesses to thrive while retaining the historic charm of the Courthouse Square area.
"Today we celebrate a milestone. Today's results are a year in preparation," Mayor Michael O'Brien told a gathering of more than 150 people Monday evening at the Comfort Inn as the plan was presented for the first time.
"Never before in the history of this city have citizens played such a vital role in determining our city's future," the mayor told the gathering, which included city and school officials and downtown merchants and residents.
"Over 70 volunteers have joined with passion and dedication to provide us with the first downtown comprehensive plan," the mayor said. The home-grown plan, titled "Warren G.R.O.W.s," stands for Grassroots Revitalization of Warren and contains 20 goals and 65 strategies for achieving them.
Getting to work
The four committees that developed the goals and strategies -- organization and steering, design, economic restructuring, and promotion and marketing -- will work to achieve those goals and strategies.
"The work is just beginning. We did the easy part. Now we've got to make it happen," said Michael Maggiano, the Warren Redevelopment and Planning Corp.'s project manager. WRAP coordinated the plan.
The plan's first goal is to strengthen downtown's economic climate. One strategy to do that is to create an economic development toolbox of loans, tax incentives and other programs that help new businesses to locate downtown.
Other strategies include developing a business assessment resource team to help downtown businesses, creating a business development workshop series and, possibly, establishing a business incubator in a key building on Courthouse Square.
The plan's second goal is to "preserve the distinctive character and historic architecture within the downtown district." Strategies for achieving that include targeting key historic buildings for restoration, using federal and state historic rehabilitation tax incentives, and seeking matching grants for facade improvements.
"It's a long-term private-public partnership," said Anthony Iannucci, WRAP director. "We have to emphasize existing assets," including historic architecture, parks and the Mahoning River, he added.
Housing plans
The plan also calls for promoting mixed-income housing in and near the downtown business district. Strategies to achieve that include enforcement of city building, fire and health codes and researching federal, state and local grants and incentives for residential enhancement.
"When you have people living in downtown urban areas, they're going to demand a certain amount of amenities," such as retail stores, restaurants and entertainment, jeweler Thom Duma told the audience.
Another strategy is to seek expansion of the city's community investment areas to permit real estate tax exemptions for residential construction and improvements.
Zoning amendments
Yet another strategy is to develop zoning code amendments to help with quality housing construction along the Mahoning River's West Market Street peninsula. "We can have riverfront condos," Duma observed, adding that developers have expressed interest in the mixed-income housing concept on the peninsula.
The plan also calls for identifying opportunities for development of vacant land and redevelopment or reuse of vacant or underused buildings.
Still other recommendations of the plan are to apply for formal designation as a Main Street community under the National Trust for Historic Preservation and to establish a Victorian holiday village theme on Courthouse Square.