Uptown Eyesores Demolished by City

Reprinted with permission from The Business Journal

Uptown Eyesores Demolished by City

Former Dusi Music store and Troubadour nightclub are razed.

July 20, 2007

By George Nelson

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – At the very least, the demolition of two long-vacant buildings on Market Street will eliminate two eyesores in the struggling Uptown business district. Work got under way this week on razing the former Dusi Music store and the adjacent building that once housed the Troubadour nightclub in the 2600 block of Market Street, just north of Indianola Avenue.

Acquired through tax delinquency, both properties are in the city’s land bank program, said William D’Avignon, director of Youngstown’s Community Development Agency.

The city acquired the Troubadour about five years ago and took control of the Dusi Music property late last year. “We just decided that it was time to get them out of there and clean it up,” D’Avignon said.

Both properties were in such disrepair the city could not find a buyer. “By cleaning them out we have the ability to sell the property as vacant property. Plus, we’re eliminating a blighting influence,” D’Avignon added. Removing the buildings, which were “detracting from the perception of safety” in the area, should also help Uptown businesses there, he said.

Among those happy to see the buildings fall is Stephen Elliott, manager of Budget Discount Furniture. The furniture store, across the street from the two properties, also owns the former Rite Aid store next to the properties. Elliott said the roofs were caved in, causing water damage to Budget‘s property next door. “When they tore the building down, they said there was 5 feet of water in the basement,” he recounted.

Budget Discount Furniture, which is owned by Elliott’s wife, Bonnie, is among the parties interested in acquiring the Market Street parcels once the debris is cleared.

“Obviously, we need parking,” Elliott said.

The furniture store would move from its present location into the former Rite Aid. Each floor of the two-story building has about 14,000 square feet of space, “basically the size of our current location,” Elliott said.

Budget would have its retail operation on the first floor of the building, which is “pretty much renovated,” Elliott said. The second floor, which “needs work,” would be developed to house Budget’s corporate offices as well as other professional office space.

Budget recently added a store in New Castle, Pa., to its outlets in Youngstown and Niles, and the company intends to expand into the Sharon-Farrell-Hermitage area, Elliott said.

Meantime, the city is “kicking around the idea of creating a landscaped parking lot for the Uptown area,” D’Avignon said, but officials will wait to see who might be interested in the property.

Interested parties should submit their proposals to the city Planning and Zoning Department, which will evaluate the proposals, said zoning analyst Karen Jackson. The department will then make a recommendation to the city Board of Control.

At its meeting Thursday, the board approved a $12,000 demolition grant to Community Corrections Association, which plans to raze the former Ziebart building on Market Street.

Mayor Jay Williams said the city is continuing to demolish dilapidated buildings across the city, “but specifically focusing on the major corridors.” Through the city economic development department, funds also are available to businesses interested in demolishing decaying properties along major arteries, he added.

“We’ve had a great deal of success on Market Street, largely because of the efforts of Rick Billak and CCA,” the mayor remarked.

CCA has landscaped and maintains several properties along Market Street. When the CCA board approved the landscaping program several years ago, said Billak, its chief executive officer, the intent was to improve the corridor and enhance the safety and security of CCA’s staff and residents at its five buildings on Market Street, “and more importantly to partner with the city to improve a major corridor going into the city.”

From 1997 through this year, CCA has demolished nearly 20 properties; it will raze the Ziebart building next week. Twelve lots are landscaped, and CCA residents are required to put in six hours of maintenance each week on those lots as well as properties CCA maintains downtown.

Once the Dusi and Troubadour buildings are gone and the debris cleared, Williams said the city will likely approach CCA about maintaining that lot until plans are completed for the property.