Oct. 3, 2007 7:21 a.m.

By George Nelson

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Over the five and a half years since she has been back in downtown Youngstown, Patricia Brozik has seen how things have changed. The improvement in the appearance and energy level of the people are noticeable. she noted, and employers are moving back from the suburbs.

Brozik, president of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, joined other civic leaders and downtown workers Tuesday morning as the city held a ribbon cutting to mark the completion of the garden bunker project at 47 E. Federal St. The plant-lined wall surrounds the parking lot behind the Realty Building and International Towers downtown.

“For those of us who work downtown every day, it sure is a beautiful place to work,” Brozik said.

The project was undertaken by Streetscape, a volunteer-driven downtown improvement organization that has expanded its efforts throughout the city in recent years to become Youngstown CityScape. Best known for its annual planting and clean-up day in late spring, StreetScape has focused on improving the visual appearance of downtown Youngstown.

“We’ve tackled another blighted area and made some greenspace,” remarked Sharon Letson, executive director of Youngstown CityScape.

The first phase of the project, located at South Champion and East Boardman streets downtown, were completed in 2000, and new benches, trash containers and a sign were installed the following year. The second phase, with the wall added along East Federal, was completed this year.

The space along East Federal was overgrown, Letson recalled. “We just started out by cleaning it, pulling out the weeds and cleaning the garbage and putting mulch down,” she continued. “And then we raised the money to put up the third wall, to really finish this kind of garden appearance.”

Claire Maluso, Youngstown director of events, special projects and community outreach, also remarked on how much change she has seen downtown since returning to work for the city four years ago. Back then, Federal Plaza had broken bricks and kiosks that were soiled and dirty, she recalled. In 2004, the city tore up the bricked pedestrian plaza and restored two-way traffic on East and West Federal streets, and celebrated that project’s completion later that year.

“From that day forward I saw nothing but growth,” she said. She also thanked the various volunteers and donors who have contributed to initiatives like the garden bunker project “that have helped us to write the success stories that I see here today.”

Annie Gillam, representing her husband, First Ward Councilman Artis Gillam, praised both Letson and Scott Schulick, vice president of Butler Wick Trust Co., who “envisioned putting Streetscape together.”

Schulick, chairman of the Streetscape committee, also thanked various donors, noting that businesswoman Denise DeBartolo York was a “major donor” for phase one and the former Downtown Partners group was a a major contributor to phase two. He also recognized the Community Foundation and the Home Savings and Loan Community Foundation, both of which “have been instrumental in our effort over the last several years,” he observed.

“It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since we began this effort with a grassroots committee,” he reflected. The garden bunker, he added, “has become one of our signature projects in our effort to continue to refurbish the visual impact of downtown Youngstown.”

Copyright © 2007 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio - All Rights Reserved