Neighborhoods

The Mahoning County Land Bank and YNDC have completed groundbreakings on new homes in the City of Struthers, City of Campbell, and Village of Sebring in the month of June. These projects build off ongoing work of the Land Bank and YNDC in these communities that include demolition, brownfield remediation, property acquisition, home repair, and housing counseling.

The homes will have at least three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open concept living, kitchen, and dining area, first floor laundry room, front porch, and two-car garage. Up to $18,000 in down payment assistance will be available for eligible homebuyers through a partnership with Huntington Bank.

The new home construction is made possible by a grant award to the Mahoning County Land Bank from the Ohio Department of Development’s Welcome Home Ohio grant program. The vacant lots were assembled by the Mahoning County Land Bank. The builder for the project is Joe Koch Construction. The projects also has support from the City of Struthers, City of Campbell, and Village of Sebring.

The new homes will be listed for sale as they approach completion. 

In June 2025, YNDC team members began the Second Ward Community Safety program. Team members are canvassing target areas throughout the ward and beginning the installation of doorbell cameras at participating households. YNDC anticipates installing more than 100 cameras in the Second Ward and has installed 82 to date. The program was created based on resident feedback to reduce crime, increase safety, and develop positive relationships with the Youngstown Police Department.

The Community Safety program works with residents, neighborhood groups and the police to operate a Community Safety program to build infrastructure among neighbors to prevent crime by building cooperation and mutual trust between residents, corridor business owners, and the police. The program establishes partnerships with households and businesses in violent crime hotspot areas in Youngstown to install doorbell cameras and installs new LED lighting at businesses along corridors in hotspot areas. The Community Safety program will also conduct meetings with residents and police and increase positive interaction with the Youngstown Police Department.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. has acquired the former Park Inn property on Glenwood Avenue for $225,000, adding to its growing portfolio along the corridor.
 

To read the full story from The Business Journal, click here. 

YNDC assisted Common Wealth Inc. (CWI) with the construction of a new duplex at 107 Baldwin Street. The duplex is all electric and contains a large solar array. YNDC assisted CWI with the development and construction management processes. The duplex is financed by CWI and they will own and operate it. 

Over the last few weeks, The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, also known as YNDC, has broken ground for new homes to be built in three different communities.
Not bad for a group that began just 15 years ago with volunteers simply boarding up vacant homes.

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.

YNDC has acquired the former Park Inn property on Glenwood Avenue. There are no immediate plans for the property. YNDC will complete a development feasibility planning process before making any determinations. In the interim, YNDC will stabilize the building and replace the roof on the three story section. This is another important step in the ongoing revitalization efforts along the greater Glenwood Avenue corridor. More updates will be provided in the future. 

A few months ago, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development corporation acquired the former Park Inn building as part of their plan to revitalize the Glenwood corridor.

"As most people know we've been incrementally revitalizing, renovating, building along Glenwood avenue and the surrounding neighborhoods so this is something that we've had our eye on for years," Ian Beniston, YNDC's executive director said. It was a $225,000 purchase and fixing it up is the next step.

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

The Youngstown Foundation has awarded a $200,000 grant to YNDC to build its new construction capacity. The funding will allow YNDC to vertically integrate and increase efficiency for the entire development process. This capacity building effort will allow YNDC to decrease the total cost of housing development and increase production over time to more significantly meet regional housing demand, while becoming less reliant on gap and other public subsidies. This work follows best practice models developed by other community development corporations and non-profit housing developers. This project builds on YNDC’s current work and partnerships. More information on this exciting opportunity will be provided in the months to come. Huge thank you to The Youngstown Foundation!

On Monday, June 30, 2025, the Frances Schermer Charitable Trust awarded YNDC a $5,000 grant for essential repair. The funds will be used for the essential home repair program to assist residents of owner-occupied, single family homes with repairs such as furnace and plumbing repairs at NO COST. Thank you to the Frances Schermer Charitable Trust!
 

Josie Lyon recalled that when she lived in Pittsburgh, many residents reacted negatively to bike lanes being installed on their streets — and how, over time, their unfavorable assessments proved to be unfounded. She is hoping the same set of circumstances will play out closer to home.

“A lot of other cities have implemented bike lanes, even Pittsburgh,” Lyon, the 7th Ward Citizens Coalition’s president, said. “There was pushback there, but people understood them and the pushback subsided.”

She is hoping for the same fate along the Midlothian Boulevard corridor, which also has received negative attention from some residents because of the bike lanes added there a few years ago. So Lyon joined about 40 others who registered for and took part in a YO! Motion Mobilizing Midlothian Community Bike Ride and Health Fair on Sunday afternoon.

The 10-mile, 90-minute ride on eBikes, which began and ended at the Youngstown Playhouse on Glenwood Avenue on the South Side, was to demonstrate that the bike lanes along the Midlothian corridor can be viable and useful for another mode of transportation.

Lyon noted that along the way to Pemberton Park and back, stops were to take place at the original Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt location near Market Street and Midlothian Boulevard, where riders were to learn about the business’s 80-year history in the Mahoning Valley. Also included was Schwebel’s Bakery on Midlothian near Simon Road.

The riders’ first stop was along Mineral Springs Drive across from the Playhouse, where the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. spearheaded the construction of six new homes as part of the city’s redevelopment and revitalization efforts.

To read the full story from the Vindicator, click here.