Wrecking ball may loom for church building owned by YSU

YOUNGSTOWN — The former Pilgrim Collegiate Church at the corner of Wick and Lincoln Avenues may fall to the wrecking ball.

Youngstown State University trustees voted to buy the property in December 2007 for $315,000 and the university took ownership last spring.

The original plan called for the church’s tenant, New Beginnings Outreach Ministries, to continue using the sanctuary while the university spent about $500,000 to convert the attached classroom wing to university use as office space.

However, New Beginnings moved out in late November or early December, relocating to a church on Schenley Avenue, leaving the building without a tenant.

The university really has no use for the sanctuary and isn’t likely to look for another congregation as a tenant, said John Hyden, YSU executive director of facilities.

It’s unlikely that the university will move forward with the original plan to renovate the classroom area either, he said.

Read more in Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com