YSU will renovate and restore Coffelt Hall

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University will spend nearly $1 million to restore and renovate Coffelt Hall as part of the university’s centennial master plan.

The YSU Board of Trustees has selected a local company, Ronald C. Faniro Architects Inc., to design the project.

It will be “an adaptive reuse of an vintage structure,” Faniro said, explaining that the $990,000 project will be part restoration and part renovation. There is a lot of history in that building, which once served as an American Legion hall and is named after the late Dr. John J. Coffelt, a former YSU president, and the challenge is to bring a modern use into an historic facility, Faniro said.

YSU isn’t interested in dropped ceilings and florescent lighting. The university wants a more historic approach in the building upgrade, he said.

The original plan for Coffelt Hall was to have the restoration completed in time for classes fall of this year.

However, delays in selecting an architectural firm to design the project took a bit longer than anticipated and Jan. 1, 2009, is now the targeted completion date.

Read more in Sunday’s Vindicator and vindy.com