Youthful visions presented for future of downtown Youngstown

December 9, 2015 at 9:51p.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Local officials hope the future for the Youngstown State University-downtown Youngstown corridor, as envisioned by Kent State University architecture students, will inspire developers and owners to consider enhancements to their properties.

About 75 fourth-year architecture students put 150 of their ideas on display Wednesday at Trinity United Methodist Church on Front Street, home of the Lewis School for Gifted Learning Potential and C.S. Lewis Institute, in the city’s downtown.

The display board of pictures and drawings of what the students envision are the product of four months of work by the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, a part of Kent State University and its College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Wednesday’s presentation was called “Re-Vision Youngstown,” the goal of which was to develop innovations to improve the city.

Mayor John A. McNally thanked the students for their work and said he was “amazed at some of the thoughts and ideas for open spaces and existing buildings that can be re-purposed.”

“What we are seeing are great ideas and concepts. These kids are professionals,” said Michael A. Hripko, associate vice president for research at YSU.

“We’ll look for ways to implement the projects,” he said.