By Peter H. Milliken

milliken@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning County commissioners approved vacating Church Street in Boardman to allow construction of a Jared Galleria of Jewelry store.

The street, which ran off Market Street near Southern Park Mall, was vacated for use by Cocca Development Ltd. and Simon Property Group for the project, which will cost more than $1 million.

Church Street, which was installed to serve a small residential area that is now part of the mall parking lot, had to be vacated to enable construction at the former location of Family Christian Store.

The Akron-based Jared has 13 Ohio locations, including one in Cuyahoga Falls.

Cocca owns Fashion Square Plaza, where construction of the Jared store is planned.

The commissioners made their decision Friday after a public hearing last week in Boardman, where all comments favored vacating the street for the new store.

Lynn Davenport, Cocca’s chief financial officer, said Cocca hopes the new jewelry store can open this year.

Church Street was named for the St. James Episcopal Church building, which was built in 1828 and moved to Boardman Park in 1972, as the mall area was rapidly being developed.

The commissioners also approved a $5,000 consulting agreement with Artzat Consulting LLC of Metairie, La., for an independent appraisal of flood damage in the county jail, where freezing and thawing caused pipes to burst in January.

Arthur Zatarain is the principal engineer at the company. He serves as a consultant in technical matters, including controls and automation and computerized devices.

Last week, the commissioners approved spending $1 million to repair the damage at the county jail, including $500,000 to replace the jail’s electronic security system.

The commissioners also approved a $16,344 agreement with Johnson Controls for spring startup and preventive maintenance at the chiller tower at Oakhill Renaissance Place to prepare it for the air-conditioning season.

Linda Macala, county convention and visitors’ bureau director, told commissioners ground was broken Thursday for a 70-room Holiday Inn Express at state Route 14 and Cunningham Road in the Mahoning County portion of Salem.

That is one of three hotels now under construction in Mahoning County.

The others are a Best Western Plus on Tiffany South Boulevard in Boardman and Candlewood Suites at state Route 46 and Interstate 80 in Austintown. Candlewood will be an extended-stay hotel. Together, these three new hotels total about 200 rooms.

“We’ve heard from our hotels that the business travel has picked up,” Macala said.

Macala said the new hotel construction is being driven, in part, by the needs of the oil and gas exploration and drilling industry.