Latest on long-running saga to redevelop Idora Park property

YOUNGSTOWN

When it comes to developing the Idora Park property on the city’s South Side, the property owner routinely is long on promises and short on cash.

In 1985, Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church on the South Side bought the 26-acre site of the amusement park. In 1987, the internationally recognized Bishop Norman Wagner announced plans for a “City of God” complex there.

Nothing happened, however. For 29 years, the church has made plans and promises but little progress.

In May 2013, Bishop C. Shawn Tyson of Mount Calvary attended a meeting of the Idora Neighborhood Association to discuss the church’s plans for the property. Bishop Tyson had taken over as pastor of the Oak Hill Avenue church after Bishop Wagner died in 2010.

During that meeting, Bishop Tyson said the City of God would include a nursing home, counseling center, gymnasium and worship facility. The first priority would be a 75,000-square-foot “Dream Center.”

“The time has come for us to do something with this,” Bishop Tyson said then. “I’m working day and night to move that vision into fruition, absolutely. It’s my No. 1 priority.”

Spring 2014 is here, and the property is still idle.

Read more about the long-running saga of the once iconic amusement park property in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.