$1.25M grant sets stage for Youngstown arts improvements
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown Symphony Society has received a $1.25 million capital grant from the state, which is believed to be the single- largest grant ever awarded to an arts organization in Youngstown.
The symphony society owns and operates the DeYor Performing Arts Center, downtown, which includes Powers Auditorium, the Ford Family Recital Hall, Flad Pavilion, Overture restaurant and rehearsal and office space.
The grant will go toward improving the energy efficiency of the DeYor, including upgrades to the heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems. It also will be used to purchase and install new digital sound system equipment, and restore and reopen the ornate lower bathroom salon, which has been closed for a few years.
Also, the stage curtains at Powers Auditorium – which are about 90 years old – will be replaced. The curtains have been hanging since the auditorium opened in the early 1930s, and have patches of rot.
Patricia Syak, president of the society, said the state grant will be matched by local donors, and efforts to raise that money have begun. She added the grant is likely the largest of its kind awarded to a local arts group.
“We’ve never got anywhere close to that amount,” she noted.
Work already has begun on the HVAC project, and will be stepped up after the grant becomes effective in mid-August.
The improvements are expected to cut utility bills at the entertainment complex by tens of thousands of dollars per year. The DeYor’s annual operating expenses range between $5 and $6 million, and Syak said utilities are a major expense.
Syak credited state Sen. Joseph Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, and state Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th, for securing the grant.
“The community is always stronger when we protect the arts,” said Lepore-Hagan, at a news conference at the DeYor on Monday.
Tim Ross, a spokesman for Gov. John Kasich, noted demand for capital project funding outstrips available dollars by 10 to 1.
“Obtaining [a grant of this size] speaks highly of the local delegation,” he said.
The DeYor’s partnership with Youngstown State University was a factor in obtaining the grant, Schiavoni said. Talks are ongoing between YSU and the symphony society for Dana School of Music students to have performances at Ford recital hall.