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Mahoning County township continues to grow and diversify
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: April 18, 2013
It was the location of one of the first strip plazas in the country, and today Boardman Township continues to be known for its retail and dining opportunities, all of which have contributed to its growth.
“We are what’s known as a ‘first-ring’ community,” said longtime trustee Tom Costello, who grew up in Youngstown, moving to Boardman Township in 1979. “We are Mahoning Valley’s destination for restaurants and shopping. If you want to go to dinner, you are pretty much guaranteed to find the restaurant you want in Boardman.”
Today the Mahoning County township has almost 41,000 residents.
“Ten years ago we had about 42,000 residents but we lost some of the population as a result of the recession,” said Jason Loree, township administrator. “Things are starting to turn around now. There is a lot of redevelopment and we are seeing some large business projects.”
In fact the area is quickly becoming known for its healthcare institutions. In 2007, Humility of Mary Health Partners put up the $83 million St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center on Market Street, which is equipped with operating rooms, endoscopy suites, recovery areas, intensive care beds as well as expanded radiology and imaging services.
Humility of Mary Health Partners has also broken ground on a new, seven-story inpatient bed tower that will include 72 telemetry, medical and surgical beds, six intensive care beds and four operating rooms. The group is also relocating its maternity services from its main campus in Youngstown to the new facility. It will continue to partner with Akron Children’s Hospital of the Mahoning Valley, which already has health care centers in Boardman Township, to operate a new neonatal intensive care unit. The project will be constructed in phases and is expected to be complete by the end of 2014. The expansion is likely to create more than 300 staff positions, including some employees who will be moved to Boardman Township from Youngstown.
In addition to the activity at St. Elizabeth, the Surgical Hospital at Southwoods (formerly the Surgery Center at Southwoods) opened its doors in Boardman in 2009, offering private rooms and amenities to patients recovering from surgery.
There have been other large additions to the business scene as well, like Summer Garden Food Manufacturing, a division of the John Zidian Co. and maker of the popular Gia Russa Italian foods brand. The company opened its 50,000-square-foot food production facility and research and development center on McClurg Road. The plant is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. In 2010, Summer Garden purchased an adjacent property and building to expand its warehousing and distribution.
Another large employer in Boardman Township is the telemarketing company, InfoCision, which is located on Crossroad Drive.
The Greater Boardman Plaza was constructed on U.S. Route 224 in 1951. Since then the shopping choices have grown tremendously. Today patrons have the option of going to the Greater Boardman Plaza, Southern Park Mall and the Shops at Boardman Park, along with hundreds of area stores.
The plaza was built by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. and was among DeBartolo’s first ventures into the construction of plazas, all situated in areas that were deemed safe for shoppers and stores alike. The DeBartolo Corp. also opened Southern Park Mall in 1970. The majority interests in both the plaza and mall have since been sold to other companies.
The DeBartolo headquarters was originally located in Youngstown, but moved to Boardman Township in 1959.
Loree said the building is still located in the township at 7620 Market St. and has a logo of the San Francisco 49ers on it, signifying the family’s ownership of the team.
“The DeBartolo family really helped the community to grow,” said Loree.
“During the winter months the daytime population can swell to 100,000 to 120,000 along the main strip on 224 because we have so many people who come here to shop,” said Loree.
Founded by Elijah Boardman in the late 1780s, the area officially became a township in 1805. It was initially an agricultural community but around the turn of the century the railroad led to Southern Park, a horse racing facility, drawing in those from Youngstown.
Around 1950 the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company opened a modern suburban headquarters in Boardman Township. Today the former headquarters is the site of many medical offices and a branch of Youngstown State University.
The steel mill industry in Youngstown helped the township’s population to grow.
“We border Youngstown and prior to the crash, a number of people working in the mills were living here,” said Loree. “Afterwards more people left Youngstown and this is one of the places where they settled because they were able to find work since it was more diverse.”
That’s not to say that the township does not have its problems.
“The rapid growth was good for the community but it came at a time when there was not a lot of planning and zoning in place,” said Costello. “As a result when the building was taking place there were no requirements for retention or detention of water, and this created flooding problems.”
Costello said officials have created the Boardman Lake Retention Project to put infrastructure in place to alleviate and prevent downstream water problems, especially in areas like Market Street and Glenwood Avenue.
He said last year he joined forces with trustees Larry Moliterno and Brad Calhoun and Fiscal Officer William D. Leicht, to write a five-year business plan laying the groundwork for future development.
“I am a business man and I believe it’s important to have a road map,” said Costello, who serves as president of the insurance company, James and Sons Inc. “Our plan laid out staffing for our police, fire and road departments. Since we are almost completely full from a residential standpoint we are looking at the redevelopment of some of our older properties. We want to be sure to maintain our zoning in order to protect the integrity of our neighborhoods.
“What we have learned from our neighbors is that when you allow the value of a few properties to go downhill, others quickly follow. We want to make sure our residents take care of their properties.”
The township is still dealing with the recent foreclosure crisis that resulted in about 800 homes being vacant.
“When you consider that we have about 19,000 homes and apartments, 800 is significant but we have secured Moving Ohio Forward money to deal with the problem,” said Costello. “We have about $100,000 in grant money which we are matching and we will use it to demolish those properties that are abandoned or in disrepair.”
The recent downturn did prove challenging from a budgetary standpoint as well.
“At one time our budget was in excess of $20 million now it’s about $17 million,” said Costello. “We do not collect income tax and the state also cut in excess of $2 million annually from our funding. When you consider that our budget is $17 million it has an impact.”
As a result, Costello said police and fire officials were laid off along with six people in the road department.
“When I first took office in 1999 we had 63 police officers,” said Costello. “During the downturn we went down to 47. About 18 months ago we passed a levy and increased the number to 57 but it is still less than it was years ago.
“At one time our fire department had 43 people now we are at 38,” said Costello. “We had to make adjustments based on our budget. We worked with the unions to accomplish the cuts. We had to make tough decisions in order to deal with the problem.”
Costello said he is proud of what the township has been able to accomplish, including maintaining a safe and attractive environment that continues to lure and keep businesses.
“The city of Youngstown does not have any new car dealerships or hotels,” said Costello. “We have several in Boardman. A Cheddar’s recently opened near the Chili’s in the Southern Park Mall.”
Although retail may draw people to Boardman Township, Loree said there are many reasons why people choose to stay, including the schools.
The Boardman Local School District has four elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school, which serve over 5,000 students. In 2000, Boardman High School opened a brand new state-of-the-art performing arts center, which is used to showcase the school’s theatre productions, musicals, band, chorus and orchestra concerts.
“They were completing the construction when I graduated,” said Loree, who also grew up in Boardman Township. “It is phenomenal. It has a full television production studio that broadcasts on Channel 19. The entire school system is rated excellent.”
“My wife and I both grew up in Youngstown,” said Costello. “Once we got married we looked at communities and we chose Boardman because it has a good school system and we have everything we need.”
In addition to the school system there is plenty of open space, including Boardman Park, which spans 227 acres, and is known as the “Green Oasis.” It features a variety of recreational facilities ranging from open-air pavilions and nature trails to tennis and volleyball courts, softball fields and playgrounds.
A large portion of the Mill Creek Park District is also located in the township. The park includes an 18-hole golf course and a long hike and bike trail.
“For me Boardman Township has everything that I would ever need or want,” said Loree. “Being able to grow up here and then work here in a job that is different every day has been great. Boardman has so many amenities and yet it is not an urban area. We are also only about an hour away from Cleveland or Pittsburgh, which lets me fly anywhere I want to go.
“Personally I would like to stay here and raise my own family.”
In the immediate future, Loree said he would like to see more redevelopment and reinvestment in the community.
“We have a lot going on right now but I want to make sure it stays viable,” said Loree.
“I would say the secret to our success in the future will be to work with Youngstown and the surrounding communities so that the entire Valley is strong,” said Costello.