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YSU hires Strollo firm for media communications facility
By Denise Dick
youngstowN
Youngstown State University tapped Strollo Architects for a $4.5 million project to change Melnick Hall into a journalism and telecommunications building.
The Finance and Facilities Committee of YSU trustees selected the city firm this week with six members — Scott Schulick, Drs. John Jakubek and Sudershan Garg, Carole Weimer, Delores Crawford and James Greene — in favor. Student Trustee Joshua Prest and trustees Harry Meshel, Leonard Schiavone and David Deibel abstained.
The other firms that presented to the committee were BHSM of the city and URS of Cleveland.
Deibel, who is owner and president of Boardman Steel, said he was abstaining because he works with the firms.
The others didn’t state reasons for their abstentions, although Meshel had made a motion to hire BHSM.
YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson said the renovation is to house journalism and telecommunications departments and activities under one roof rather than spread throughout campus.
Once the project is complete, Melnick will house the journalism and telecommunications department, now in DeBartolo and Bliss halls, respectively; the Jambar student newspaper, which is in Fedor Hall; the NewsOutlet, housed in Smith; WYSU which is in Cushwa and Rookery Radio, now in Kilcawley Center.
“There literally are not two entities dealing with communications that are housed together,” she said.
The project also includes adding an elevator to the building.
Ikram Khawaja, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the renovated building will act as a media communication incubator.
“It’s the same thing that happened when we created the College of STEM, and you see what’s happened out of that,” he said.
The Rose Melnick Medical Museum, now housed in Melnick Hall, will move to Cushwa Hall with items displayed in the areas corresponding to the appropriate fields.
Nursing implements, for example, will be displayed in the area of the building that houses the nursing department.
The university also hopes the move will mean more people will see the items from the museum, which hasn’t attracted a lot of visitors.
Of the $4.5 million needed for the project, $2.5 million is from the state capital budget.
The remainder has to be raised.
That caused some concern among some trustees.
“I’m not sure we’ve hired an architectural firm when funding hasn’t been in place,” Schulick said.
“That troubles me.”
Anderson said that not all of the money was in place before the university moved forward with plans to build the Williamson College of Business Administration building or the Watson and Tressel Training Site.
R. Scott Evans, vice president for university advancement, said it’s a good idea to have a preliminary design in place to show to potential donors in seeking funds.
The board discussed the possibility of doing the project in phases if necessary.
Committee members also endorsed the administration’s plan to build a veterans center on the site of the former Peck House on Wick Avenue.
That historic building was torn down last month.
The roughly $750,000 for that project would come through fundraising.