Mount Calvary rejects offer for Idora Park property

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church has rejected an offer on the former Idora Park property.

Jim and Toni Amey, who run the Idora Park Experience, submitted an offer that they said was higher than the appraised value of $52,000.

“We thought it was a reasonable offer and thought they would consider it,” Jim Amey said. “They said the property is not for sale. They didn’t consider it. They didn’t counter.”

The 26-acre property is south of Parkview Avenue and west of McFarland Avenue near Mill Creek MetroParks.

The church first purchased the property in 1985 with plans for a City of God complex with a nursing home, counseling center, shopping plaza, retirement home and religious education and worship facilities.

By 1989, the Idora Park parcel went to sheriff’s auction. The church purchased the property again in 1994, but the City of God never materialized.

The Ameys saw an opportunity when Mount Calvary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, and Toni Amey made their intentions known at a March hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

“It’s really disheartening that we got the response that we did without any explanation,” Jim Amey said.

The couple envisions a park with walking paths and monuments to classic rides, and a version of their museum that could be open year-round. They open their collection to the public twice yearly.

A Mount Calvary representative did not respond to a request to comment.