Erie Terminal Apartments

[northside lurker]

I thought an architecture firm was moving into the Wells Building?

[iwasthere]

ws i asked eric about the plans of his idea of an international trade ctr was coming along into today's plans for ytwn. he told me its still in talking stages then this led to the dicussions of usage of kress and the wells bldgs. just two people sharing dreams and hope that might come to reality for this valley.

[Towntalk]

I don't blame you one bit for feeling bad. It's a total waste of community assets. The school building I referred to is at least 100 years old and is still in good shape, not for a school to be sure, but as a community center yes.

[northside lurker]

I've had the displeasure of preparing contact documents to demolish some really great old school buildings in Warren and Ashtabula.

[Towntalk]

That's a shame because some of those buildings could be repurposed as community centers for the area's they are located in.

The school building that I attended as a child was old when I went to school there ... 1st thru 5th grade but today it served that side of town as a community center. It had 5 classrooms, an auditorium and a gym.

[northside lurker]

Off topic, but Ohio law makes it difficult for school districts to save their old buildings.  If school districts want to sell their buildings, they have to offer them to charter schools/private schools first.  So, instead of taking the risk that a charter school will come in, "steal" their students, and drain funding from them, local districts often choose to demolish their old buildings, instead.

[Towntalk]

Thanks a whole lot.

As I remember, the Kress Buildind had 3 display windows and two entrances ... window door window door window and it was only after Kress closed and Grayson's a womens clothing store moved in that it was changed.

The MVHS may have pictures of the building when it was a 5 & 10.

Back home they have done a fantastic job in preserving several of the old historic buildings ... two banks, the hotel which is now a high rise apartment building, the court house, the jail, and the building that once housed the radio station that my mother worked at as well as the Ritz Theatre which is still a first run house currently showing the new Batman flick ... pritty good for a small college town of 8000.

Even some of the old school buildings have been preserved and are now community centers.

[northside lurker]

I don't know if anything is happening at the Kress Building, or if that was just an idea iwasthere and Eric Planey were discussing today.  But, I've heard that the new owners of the Stambaugh Building want to convert it to a multi-use building with some floors being a hotel, and some floors being more residential.

I'd also like to wish you a belated happy birthday, Towntalk!

[Towntalk]

That would be fantastic ... a Youngstown version of Sharon's The Winner. Any timeline  A good sandblasting of the front of the building wouldn't go amiss, for as westsider may have pointed out, the front is an architectural jewel a little long in the tooth, but worthy of trying to save. 

Hopefully whoever does the redesign will consult original photos of the building when it was a Five and Dime store and restore that look. When I was young, I use to love going there and getting a large bag of potato chips to take with me to munch on while curled up listening to my favorite radio programs.

[iwasthere]

tt happy belated bd. now i know why we are going to have 90 degrees weather over the weekend we agree on a topic.lol this afternoon i had street conversation with eric planey from y/w chamber of commerce.about the kress bldg that should be turned into a mini mall while usng valet/free parking at one of the many parking lots.

[Towntalk]

  We're agreed my friend  ain't life just ginger peachy  Oh and by the way, that countdown business was a personal reminder that this last Sunday was my 73rd birthday  And as for what's happening downtown generally, I'm just bubbling over with ecstatic joy  Now if only something will finally be done with the Stambaugh and Kress buildings ... stop the talk and actually do something with them.  But I suspect that when it's my turn to go to that great retirement home in the sky they'll still be empty.

[iwasthere]

tt i never said that you are against sec 8. i should had been clearer about my response. the ytown dt could not flourish with government subsidy renters but residents who have disposal income that comes from the private sector businesses.  the ydt cannot exist solely on bars and resaurants, and sec 8 residents but mix the ydt with retail, bar and restaurants, sec 8 renters, and disposal income renters success wil occur in the ydt financial and business district. 

[Towntalk]

Vindicator article. More detailed.


http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/aug/02/complex-ready-for-occupants/

[Towntalk]

iwasthere, excuse me please, but what is your point? I don't object to section 8 housing there are three housing complexes downtown that are section 8 ... the old Ohio Hotel ... International Towers ... Gutnick Towers all fully occupied so what's wrong with having some high end apartment buildings downtown for upper income folks in the mix?

As to a downtown business association ... fantastic ... my cousin Bob heads up such an association in my hometown and for a town of 8000 its downtown puts Youngstown to shame with the wide varity of retail businesses it has along with a first run movie theater downtown ... so I wish YAEDA all sorts of good fortune.

[iwasthere]

sec 8 has its good pts and bad pts. this is the second pt of yaeda phase. yaeda has three  phases, the third one is to est a business assoc.