WRPA approves sale of Glenwood Avenue property to YNDC

August 16, 2018 at 12:06a.m.

WARREN

An initiative to redevelop a property on Glenwood Avenue in Youngstown and put it back into use moved forward Wednesday, when the Western Reserve Port Authority board approved the property’s sale to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.

The authority had agreed earlier this year to buy the former Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley warehouse and office building at 2246 Glenwood Ave., lease it to YNDC for 18 months, then sell it to YNDC.

Thanks in part to a $150,000 award from the Wells Fargo/U.S. Conference of Mayors CommunityWINS grant program, YNDC was able to buy the building sooner than planned, YNDC executive director Ian Beniston said.

Beniston said YNDC will improve the property, then seek out three to five businesses to rent office space there.

“We’re making a series of basic improvements as well as enhancing the quality of the space and the aesthetics of it, then we’ll be working with local businesses, some city and minority-owned businesses, that need move-in-ready” office space, he said.

He said the goal is to have the building fixed up sometime this fall.

Although no final agreements have been signed, Beniston said YNDC has some prospective tenants interested in renting there.

“We think it’s going to be a productive facility and an asset to the neighborhood once the improvements have been made” and YNDC attract businesses, he said.

The port authority is selling the building to YNDC for $125,000, which is what the authority paid for it.

In other business at the authority’s Wednesday meeting, WRPA Executive Director John Moliterno informed the board that the authority’s airline consultant will attend the board’s next meeting, at which time Moliterno said he hopes to have a request for action related to commercial service at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. The airport lost its only commercial service provider at the beginning of the year.

Moliterno, who is acting as interim aviation director, said those involved in the commercial service talks know of possible routes, but are working on pricing.