Demolition work begins at site of business college

By Harold Gwin

Actual construction on the 106,000-square-foot structure won’t begin until next year.

YOUNGSTOWN — There are signs that something is happening on the site of Youngstown State University’s proposed new Williamson College of Business Administration building.

Work crews are in the process of removing asbestos from the five buildings that will be demolished to make way for the $34.3 million structure.

Atty. Greg Morgione, YSU associate general counsel, told the university’s board of trustees recently that demolition of the structures in the site bounded by Phelps Street on the east, Wood Street on the south, Elm Street on the west and Rayen Avenue on the north will begin shortly.

A contractor has completed asbestos removal in two of the buildings and has begun work on a third, Morgione said, adding that a fence will soon be erected around the construction site for safety reasons before actual demolition begins.

The city is handling the nearly $400,000 demolition contract, and YSU will reimburse the city for its share of the costs.

The contract calls for the buildings to be gone around the end of this month. The structures are a former auto dealership building on Rayen Avenue, a Catholic Diocese of Youngstown building at Rayen and Phelps, an apartment building on Phelps, a garage/storage facility at Phelps and Wood and a former multistory commercial building on Wood.

Betty Jo Licata, dean of the business school, said a ceremonial groundbreaking will take place sometime this fall, but actual construction won’t begin until next year.

Design and construction documents are being finalized now, and the university will seek construction bids in November. The schedule calls for occupancy of the new 106,000-square-foot facility in fall 2010. It will be twice the size of the current building. The college maintains an enrollment of about 1,800 undergraduate and graduate students.

Meanwhile, fundraising for the project continues.

The university plans to secure $16 million in private funding from its Centennial Capital Campaign and has already surpassed the $12 million mark. The rest of the money will come from state capital funds allocated to the university.

The building’s location was chosen, in part, to improve the university’s ties with the downtown business district. In addition to more educational space, it will offer a variety of facilities to improve the university’s link with the local business community.

One goal of the project is to make the new structure a LEED-certified building.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System sets standards for environmentally sustainable and highly energy-efficient construction.

gwin@vindy.com