YNDC celebrates 100th home rehab

By GRAIG GRAZIOSI

ggraziosi@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. celebrated its 100th home rehabilitation with the unveiling of a recently finished property at 4202 Rush Blvd.

The nearly 1,800-square-foot South Side home in the city’s 7th Ward has three bedrooms and 11⁄2 baths. The YNDC obtained the home through the Mahoning County Land Bank.

Ian Beniston, executive director of the YNDC, said the organization is closing a sale on the home, which was listed for $75,000.

The YNDC is a multifaceted neighborhood development organization launched in 2009 in partnership with the city and The Raymond John Wean Foundation. According to its website, the organization works “to transform neighborhoods into meaningful places where people invest time, money and energy into their homes and neighborhoods.”

Beniston said the house was listed as a top priority for rehabilitation by residents when the YNDC developed the Pleasant Grove Neighborhood Action Plan.

The YNDC’s first home rehabilitation was in 2011. Since then, the majority of the group’s rehab projects have taken place in the past four years.

“I think it shows we’ve come a long way over the last four to five years,” Beniston said. “And I think this house, in particular, shows that we’ve been getting results, too.”

Debora Flora, land bank executive director, said the work the YNDC and land bank have done over the past several years has been both enjoyable and productive.

“Grand collaborations can be difficult, but I’m glad this hasn’t, and I’m delighted for our relationship with the YNDC to continue,” Flora said. “Now that we’re past the first 100 houses, I hope there’s another 100 or even few hundred left ahead of us.”

Flora said the house was a fitting structure to hold the 100th spot, saying it exemplified all the benefits of rehabilitation projects.

“It’s a great neighborhood to illustrate why it works,” Flora said. “You have a house from a different era with great architecture and great construction. It was a great candidate for rehabilitation.”