The vacant four-bedroom ranch home had seen better days. Though its windows and doors were suprisingly intact, the house — located next to Mill Creek Park in Youngstown’s Idora neighborhood — had been stripped of insulation. It’s wires and plumbing were old and worn, and much of the house was in need of updating.
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Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. has sinced replaced the windows and roof, installed a new furnace and insulation, refinised the hardwood floors, painted the exterior, poured a new driveway and revamped the kitchen and bathroom. In all, the investment was around $85,000.
“The YNDC has opened up the possibilities for this space,” says Kevin Handel, who grew up in the neighborhood and is purchasing the home through the YNDC’s Healthy Home Ownership Program.
“We want to improve the quality of life in Youngstown by building and encouraging investment in neighborhoods,” says YNDC executive director Presley Gillespie.
Handel’s future home is one of 38 that have undergone a makeover. The YNDC has turned 120 vacant lots into community gardens, side yards for neighbors and an expansion of Mill Creek Park. Murals and unique neighborhood street signs decorate the area.
“You no longer see multiple houses with broken windows and unruly overgrown shrubbery,” Handel says. Now even the vacant homes have trimmed bushes and are sealed off with plywood painted to look like windows and doors.
Those behind the revitalization effort want to create a sustainable neighborhood. So Handel and about 15 others have entered into home ownership training to learn about budgets, financial assistance and planning for annual maintenance.
In addition, 84 residents have registered as community gardeners and more than 60 have participated in biweekly garden training. “I have met people who I am sure I have seen but never knew,” Handel says.
“We are starting to see residents reinvest in their properties,” Gillespie says. “The mindset and confidence has begun to change.”
Outsiders are even taking note: A $4 million grocery store has been proposed on a vacant site along Glenwood Avenue. “The neighborhood is returning to its inviting self from long ago,” Handel says.