Owner of historic home still plans restoration

YOUNGSTOWN — A vacant 107-year-old historic mansion with a view of Lake Cohasset was vandalized last fall and nearly destroyed by fire this week. But its owner isn’t giving up plans to restore it.

“I’m damn angry about it but I’m not going to sit back, I still intend to do something in that neighborhood,” owner Arthur E. Menaldi said Thursday from his Florida home. “It’s not enough to [restore] one house, we need people to get involved, get motivated to save the historic homes in Mill Creek Park.”

Menaldi, son of a longtime local jeweler, bought the 12-room house at 1660 Volney Road in January 2006. His intent was to restore it to its former glory and donate the property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Last September, thieves kicked in a back door and ripped out copper pipes. They also removed vintage decor such as French doors and leaded-glass library doors.

After the break-in Menaldi, 62, wanted to scrap plans to restore the mansion but later decided to proceed. He estimated it would take $300,000 to $400,000 to modernize the place with new bathrooms, kitchens, air conditioning, stucco, heating system, roof and grounds.

Wednesday afternoon, fire broke out at the large (nearly 5,000 square feet) two-story white stucco house trimmed in green. The cause is listed as suspicious and damage set at $65,000.