A change of scenery for downtown

Downtown Youngstown may be in a holding pattern in terms of new businesses and nightlife options, but some aesthetic improvements are in the pipeline.

Youngstown State University recently was awarded a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to create art projects that would improve way-finding, parking, lighting and other things that are important to visitors. This dovetails with Youngstown’s “City of You” branding and marketing campaign.

Both projects are in the development stage.

But one small piece of the new-look effort should be visible in a month or so, when giant photographs of city scenes will be placed up on the walls along North Phelps Street, downtown.

The photo project is the work of the Downtown Youngstown Partnership, a group of business owners, residents, professionals and others with a stake in the center city. The DYP had a contest for photos that depict downtown places or activities. About 30 people entered the contest. Seven winners, submitted by six artists (and one group), were chosen as winners last week.

They are Bob Jadloski, Jamie Fleeson, Liz Cooper, Mark Sember (whose photo is shown on this page), Matt Infante (two of his were selected) and Youngstown Cityscape. Each receives a $100 prize, and their names will be included in a corner of their photo, once it is enlarged and mounted in the cases on North Phelps Street.

By the way, these cases are about 10 feet wide and on sidewalk level of the block, which gets a lot of foot traffic. They should be real noticeable. Currently, stock photos of people having fun are mounted in the cases.

The photo competition started as a solo project by DYP, but it’s now viewed as part of the YSU and City of You efforts.

Meanwhile, a new art exhibition dubbed “The City of You | Visual Stories of Youngstown” will open with a reception Friday at 6 p.m. at M Gallery, in Erie Terminal Place downtown. It will run through Sept. 23.

The exhibition is obviously part of the City of You branding campaign. It features graphic design and photo pieces that tell the positive stories of a changing city.

Professor R.J. Thompson of YSU and a team of graphic design students created the exhibition, which offers a narrative of where Youngstown is and where it’s headed.

They did so with the input of residents, and they included their stories on audio that visitors can hear (check them out at cityofyou.org).

These residents were photographed, and their images were made into designs that will become part of the City of You campaign, which will be promoted in print and digital media.

Residents still can take part in the effort by recording their own stories of the city; contact RJThompson01@ysu.edu to schedule a session.

Rebranding and artful beautification can go a long way in building enthusiasm for a city. But a whole lot better would be the actual bricks-and-mortar projects that are in the works.

Tops on this list would be the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel that is slated for the Stambaugh Building on Central Square. Work has yet to begin to renovate the empty building, but developer Dominic Marchionda told The Vindicator in March that he still plans to have it done by the end of next year.

The hotel would have 120 rooms and a restaurant, and would be the only hotel downtown.

Next on the list has to be the Gallagher Building at North Hazel and West Commerce streets.

Gatta Development of Niles bought the four-story 1904 structure in 2013 and announced plans for a $5.9 million renovation that would include a brewpub and eatery, office space and apartments.

Gatta received a $1.32 million Ohio Historic Preservation tax credit in December 2014, but so so far, nothing has happened at the site.

Guy D’Astolfo covers entertainment for The Vindicator. Follow him on Twitter at @VindyVibe.