Youngstown mayor gives update on downtown

YOUNGSTO WN, Ohio (WKBN) – Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown and other city leaders gathered Monday at the DoubleTree Hotel to give an update on the downtown area following the demolition of the Realty Building.

The building was damaged in an explosion on May 28 following a gas leak, and it has since been torn down. Crews have been working to take down the last pieces of the building.

Brown thanked everyone involved in helping the residents of the Realty Building and International Towers. He said the time now has come to celebrate the reopening of downtown and for everyone to reconnect with the businesses.

“This is a time where we can all come together and say we can all decide on we want that to be a central focal point,” Brown said.

Part of that hinges on what becomes of the site of the Realty Building as demolition crews are expected to begin removing debris and trucking it away from the site this week.

“He’s not really committed to anything yet. He said ‘something great that you’re going to be proud of, Mayor,'” Brown said.

The other avenue involves reopening downtown streets that have been closed off since the explosion, allowing the public to move about freely.

Brown talked about opening Commerce Street as soon as possible and other areas.

“We want to get the flow of downtown open, and as we get an opportunity to do so, we’ll do that as well. Boardman, they’re moving, progress is really moving on Boardman Street. Market Street is open,” Brown said.

Brown said they have put out bid documents so Market Street and Federal Street can be reestablished once the construction site is clear.

Almost everyone living at International Towers, the neighboring apartment building, has since returned home after the evacuation order was lifted.

“In my time at United Way, this is one of the proudest things I’ve been involved with,” said Bob Hannon, president of United Way for Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

City officials say they are planning a series of events to drive people back downtown and they’re also focusing on the future of development in the city’s center.

“We want everyone coming downtown with their friends and their family and enjoying everything from Oh Wow! to the Covelli Center to the Amphitheater,” said Councilman Julius Oliver.

There is an eye toward economic development, making sure the road to recovery is clear for all of the downtown businesses that were impacted by the explosion.

“We want everybody to think about those nostalgic moments. Those back in the day moments. When you came downtown and you wanted to have a good time and downtown was the place to be. We want to reimagine downtown and take it back to that era,” Oliver said.

Brown said a downtown celebration is planned for fall and more information about that will be revealed at a later date.

Monday morning, WKBN also learned that the Mahoning County coroner has ruled the death of Akil Drake as an accident. Drake, who was working in the Chase Bank building at the time of the explosion, was killed in the blast.

Gerry Ricciutti, Patty Coller and Chelsea Simeon contributed to this report.

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