U.S. DOT recognizes Youngstown for grant award

December 12, 2018 at 12:08a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown was the only federal grant recipient invited to a Tuesday ceremony in the U.S. capital, during which U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced $1.5 billion in discretionary funding for 91 infrastructure projects.

Last week, the department awarded $10.8 million to Youngstown’s SMART2 Network project, one of 850 transportation development projects across the country that competed for federal funding through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD Transportation program. The area’s application, submitted by Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, pitched $26.2 million in downtown developments including an automated shuttle route.

“BUILD transportation grants are major investments in road, rail, transit and port projects that serve as a downpayment on this administration’s commitment to America’s infrastructure,” Chao said.

James Kinnick, Eastgate director, said the BUILD grant carries a greater focus on rural communities, which traditionally struggle to attract federal or state money.

“I think we were the poster-child for what their grants were looking for, so that’s why we were singled out. ... community public-private partnerships, the community working together, safety, innovation, connectivity, quality of life and economic development,” he said.

He and Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown joined several other local officials in the U.S. capital this week to meet with Ohio lawmakers about the grant. During the ceremony, Brown remarked about the project’s downtown impact.

“This is a prime example of a private and public partnership to be looked at not only in Ohio but in the United States of America,” he said. “This is a transformative project. It’s not just a beautification, this will change a lot of dynamics.”

Kinnick said officials are meeting with design consultants next week and hope to have conceptual drawings ready for the SMART2 project’s kickoff in spring, with construction to begin in late 2019 or early 2020.