Friday, February 17, 2017
YOUNGSTOWN
The demolition of the former Southside Red & White grocery store on Market Street will allow the Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown to be more visible from that street and eventually lead to a capital campaign to turn the space into a recreation center.
Officials with the club, city and Community Corrections Association on Thursday discussed the demolition of the store, which started Tuesday and should be finished by next Friday, and the future of the location.
“It’s great to be able to turn this into a project that cleans up the community, cleans up a blight on the community,” said David J. Stillwagon, CCA’s chief executive officer. “This is 11/2 acres on a main artery in the city.”
Next month, CCA will pay to grade the hill at the border of the club’s property so the building can be seen from Market Street. It’s the first phase of what the club wants to do with the property.
A capital campaign will be announced in the coming months to raise money for various recreational activities at the former store location at 2126 Market St. between West Glenaven and Chicago avenues. CCA’s ownership of the property will continue.
“We need to grade it down to make the club more visible,” said Germaine McAlpine, Boys & Girls Club executive director. “Once we grade it down, we’ll work on an outdoor recreation project with basketball courts, walking trails, programs for healthy lifestyles and a healthy community over time.”
CCA purchased the property – Red & White closed about two years ago – for $50,000 as part of its ongoing effort to clean up Market Street.
The company, which operates halfway houses, has purchased 46 properties on and near Market Street during the past 20 years, Stillwagon said.
As part of a cooperative effort, the city’s street department is demolishing the property at an in-kind cost of about $17,000, Mayor John A. McNally said.
“We want to start to look further down the Market Street corridor,” he said. “We have two apartments across the street, and we want to go to the uptown area.”