Local township continues revamping main street in collaborative project

LIBERTY, Ohio (WKBN) — Liberty Township residents may have noticed changes to their corridor of Belmont Avenue with more businesses moving in and old ones renovating.

Over the last couple of years, Liberty Township’s section of Belmont Avenue has seen a lot of business development, and there are even more plans coming in the future.

Township Trustee Arnie Clebone says the growth is positive.

“Partly, it’s a reflection of the market and market conditions,” Clebone said. “There is a growing market here one is of course the people of Liberty Township, but also we’re getting a lot of people from the north side of Youngstown.”

Some big projects under construction are the new Mercy Mental Health Hospital and a new hotel. Additionally, fast and casual dining chains have undergone renovations, and more locally-owned businesses have moved in.

“I think people are finding that accessibility is a real thing,” Clebone said. “We’re right off the freeway. We’re right in between two market areas.”

Belmont Avenue is also the path between Mahoning and Trumbull Counties, putting the location in a unique position.

Liberty has been working with Youngstown for the Build A Better Belmont initiative, which puts a spotlight on Belmont’s potential while supplementing its growth.

Jack Kravitz is on the board and says it’s applying for grants for those initiatives.

“It’s great we’re growing, but we could make it better. We have a lot of asphalt, a lot of parking lots on Belmont,” Kravitz said. “We’d like to see green spaces. We’d like to see places where people can actually be walking, bike riding and taking the WRTA, which has three routes on Belmont Avenue.”

Kravitz said they’d like to see more people enjoying everything that’s offered on just one avenue.

“Everything opens up and people really realize all we have, and that’s what Build a Better Belmont is all about,” Kravitz said. “Telling people what we really have on Belmont Avenue and making them proud of what we have.”

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