Land Bank Hails Grants for Brownfield Sites, Including 20 Federal Place, Royal Sebring China

June 17, 2022

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Officials of the Mahoning County Land Bank, City of Youngstown and Western Reserve Port Authority are welcoming the news that five local redevelopment projects can proceed now that long-awaited state grants have been approved.
State officials announced confirmation of these five grants today:

$1,492,670 million for land remediation at the former Royal Sebring China property in Sebring.
$6,962,250 for renovation of 20 Federal Place in downtown Youngstown.
$149,803 for redevelopment of a vacant church-school building at 131 W. Woodland Ave., close to Market Street on Youngstown’s South Side.
$86,887 for redevelopment of a retail/residential building at 2307 Market St., also on Youngstown’s South Side.
$496,000 for redevelopment of Area A of the CASTLO Industrial Park in Struthers.

“These five ‘brownfield sites’ are very different, but they all hold tremendous potential for successful redevelopment,” said Debora Flora, executive director at the Land Bank.

“These are priority locations in which the Land Bank, local governments and others have collectively invested significant time and effort but lacked the necessary funding to proceed in a meaningful way. The state’s new brownfields program has turned out to be the critical missing piece for these important projects.

“We are very excited about collaborating with our partners on the next steps for these priority locations.”

Here are some details on the five projects:

Royal Sebring China Property: The grant will pay for remediation of hazardous materials that have remained on the 20-acre site since the early 1980s, when Royal Sebring China, once among the largest china manufacturers in the United States, ceased operations. The work will include removing more than 2,300 tons of contaminated soil, treating and capping sections of the property and installing new storm sewers. The site is owned by a company led by Michael Conny, owner of MAC Trailer, based in Alliance, a manufacturer of trailers and truck bodies.

20 W. Federal St., Youngstown: The city and its development partners envision a catalytic transformation of the largest historic building in the heart of the region. The building, now known as 20 Federal Place, formerly housed Strouss’ Department Store and the headquarters of the Phar-Mor discount drug store chain. Plans call for the project to begin with the demolition and remediation of hazardous materials and dilapidated infrastructure. This would enhance energy efficiency, set higher development standards throughout the Central Business District and enable further revitalization to create a downtown destination for workers, shoppers and tourists.

131 W. Woodland Ave., Youngstown: The structure is a long-vacant church with an attached school building, built in 1920. The location is within a quarter-mile from a part of Market Street that is the focus of the Market Street Transit Oriented Development (TOD) plan. The Western Reserve Transit Authority and the City of Youngstown are developing a TOD plan aimed at upgrading transit and multimodal infrastructure and connections to create new economic initiatives. That would include rezoning and prioritizing vacant space, redeveloping and repurposing buildings and constructing new development on available parcels.

2307 Market St., Youngstown: The abandoned building includes residential space on the top floor and retail commercial space on the first floor. It has been vacant for more than a decade and is well beyond any reasonable repair. It also is within the Market Street TOD plan area.

CASTLO Area A, Struthers: The project property is located within the CASTLO Industrial Park, which is owned by CASTLO Community Improvement Corp. It consists of five acres that front the Struthers Central Business District. The property was once a part of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Struthers division. The grant will be used to remediate soil and groundwater contamination so that two buildings on site can be redeveloped for retail and community uses. Western Reserve Port Authority manages the CASTLO CIC.

About Mahoning County Land Bank

The Mahoning County Land Bank is a nonprofit community improvement corporation dedicated to acquiring vacant, abandoned, tax-delinquent properties and making them productive again. The land bank assists local governments in assembling land for future projects and collaborates with civic, religious and nonprofit organizations to create new green spaces and community gardens.

Photo: Visiting the Royal Sebring China property recently were Michael Conny, leader of the company that owns the site, Sebring Mayor James Harp, former Sebring Mayor J. Michael Pinkerton and Mahoning County Treasurer Dan Yemma, also chairman of the Mahoning County Land Bank.