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Bill includes $450,000 for parking deck
The estimated cost of the parking-deck project is $6.5 million.
YOUNGSTOWN — A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives includes $450,000 for a parking deck to be built behind the former State Theatre site in the city’s downtown.
If the money for the parking deck receives final federal approval, there’s still a long way to go before the structure could be built.
That’s because the estimated cost of building the 200-space parking facility is $6.5 million.
The $450,000 allocation is included in the U.S. House’s $447 billion Consolidated Appropriations Act, which primarily funds health, education and transportation projects. It passed Thursday by a vote of 221 to 202 along party lines, with no Republicans supporting it.
The parking-deck allocation was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
In this bill, Ryan sponsored funding for 10 other projects and programs in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, totaling $3.1 million.
The bill next goes to the U.S. Senate, then to a conference committee consisting of members of both legislative bodies to work out the differences before finally getting to the president for his approval. There is no guarantee that all of the allocations in the House plan will be in the final bill.
The parking-deck request came from the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. as part of Phase 4 of its high-tech block project on the western portion of West Federal Street.
The plan is to build the deck on the site of a surface lot on the northwest corner of West Boardman and Hazel streets. The former State Theatre was demolished earlier this year, but the facade of the historical structure remains.
The other Valley items sponsored by Ryan in the bill are:
U$200,000 for the Western Reserve Port Authority’s economic- development initiative, such as “marketing the region, attracting new businesses, participating in financial deals to encourage new investments that will serve to retain and create new jobs,” reads a statement from Ryan’s office.
U$900,000 to develop a “social- emotional learning” program in eight school buildings in the Youngstown, Warren and Niles school districts.
U$200,000 to create a pilot program to train four Youngstown State University faculty members in “social-emotional learning theory.” The faculty would develop a required course in the field for all YSU education majors.
U$100,000 for an after-school program for Warren children.
U$305,000 for the Youngstown Grey-to-Green Initiative to train people in green jobs.
U$200,000 for a program to train women for jobs in the building trades, energy/utilities and advanced manufacturing.
U$145,000 to have 100 inner-city Youngstown kids participate in a two-year program in the arts.
U$100,000 for the Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way to create a Success by 6 program. The six-week program would focus on helping at-risk kindergarten kids in Mahoning County learn to read.
U$200,000 for the Youngstown Police Athletic League and the Ohio PAL with various youth crime-prevention programs.
U$495,000 for a 190-foot communications tower in Weathersfield that would also be used by McDonald and Niles for better emergency, police and fire communications.
skolnick@vindy.com