Pleasant Grove is a large neighborhood on Youngstown's South Side. It is generally defined as the area of the city that is south of Midlothian Avenue and east of Market Street. Unlike most of the South Side, Pleasant Grove has remained a stable neighborhood with a healthy real estate market. Furthermore, the neighborhood is constantly showing signs of improvement. For example, the YNDC recently announced plans to build three market-rate single family homes on Helena Avenue. These new homes will be the first major market-rate residential development in the South Side in decades, proving that Pleasant Grove is a great place to invest in. Pleasant Grove is made up of two sub-neighborhoods; Handels and Boulevard Park. Handels, named after the famous ice-cream stand within the neighborhood, is located in between Market Street and Southern Boulevard. Boulevard Park is loosely defined as the blocks surrounding the tree-lined Euclid and Rush Boulevards. While these sub-neighborhoods have different characteristics, both were built as upper-middle class automobile suburbs during the 1920s. As a result, Pleasant Grove is filled with beautiful historic tudor-revival and colonial-revival homes. Here are some of the current properties for sale within Pleasant Grove. (All photos in this article are sourced from listings on Realtor.com) 4221 Rush Boulevard This brick cape-cod house is stunning on both the outside and inside. It is located in Boulevard Park on the tree-lined Rush Boulevard. This house is one of the many beautiful historic brick homes located in the Pleasant Grove neighborhood. Additionally, the design and brickwork of this house makes it one of a kind. The interior of the house is move-in ready and features hard wood floors and a living room fireplace. The property also includes a spacious but under-utilized back yard which is full of potential. Overall, this is a beautiful and affordable property that requires minimal work. 3814 Southern Boulevard Unlike the other two properties featured in this article, 3814 Southern Boulevard is not a single family home. It is also technically a part of the Cottage Grove neighborhood, but since it is directly across the street from the Handels area of Pleasant Grove, I decided to include it in this article. This unique brick triplex was built in 1925 and is a perfect example of the many multi-family residences which once covered the city's South Side. Today, many of these historic multi-family properties are in a state of disrepair or have been demolished. However, this property is in great shape and would be a great investment opportunity. Each unit has two bedrooms and occupies one floor of the building. Additionally, each unit is spacious and well maintained. The property comes with a very spacious (and arguably over-sized) parking lot behind the building. Though the property may not be in the best neighborhood, it is only less than a block north of Midlothian Boulevard and is close to the ever-improving Pleasant Grove neighborhood. The access to Southern Boulevard also provides a quick way to drive to both Boardman and Downtown with ease. PRICE: $68,000 BUILT: 1925 BEDROOMS: 6 (two per unit) BATHROOMS: 3 (one per unit) SQUARE FEET: 3,504 MORE INFO: Realtor.com 4038 Sunset Boulevard 4038 Sunset Boulevard is definitely a fixer-upper. However, there is one perk to this property that instantly boosts its appeal; It is located in Boardman School District! In fact, this specific property is technically located in Boardman Township due to peculiar city limit borders. While the neighborhood around it is entirely within the City of Youngstown and has no direct road connections to Boardman, this specific property sits within township limits. In other words, you can help revitalize a City neighborhood whilst residing in a great and reputable school district. And of course, we cannot neglect this home's beautiful brick exterior! The property is located on the corner of two quiet streets (Sunset Blvd. & Hollywood Ave.) but is only one block away from Midlothian Boulevard and one house away from the beautiful tree lined Euclid Boulevard. Surprisingly, this house was once a duplex but was later converted into a single family home. Today, there is still an in-law suite on the first floor which is a remnant of the house's past. Despite the good location, this house remains in bad shape on the inside and needs a lot of TLC. Additionally, this house does not have a listing price and is instead being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Though this house is definitely not perfect, it presents an interesting opportunity to invest in one of Youngstown's best neighborhoods whilst preserving a piece of local history.
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By Zach Perkins When driving down Fifth Avenue, it is hard to miss Parkway Towers, the now-abandoned eight story apartment building that was once one of Youngstown's most elegant residential buildings. I recently had a chance to photograph the exterior of this 1929 apartment complex which prompted me to do some research to learn more about the history of this mysterious building and what steps could be taken in order to restore the structure to its former glory. PAST When the Parkway Towers were first opened in the late 1920's, the property served as Youngstown's model high-income apartment complex. Unlike previous multi-family residential units, Parkways Towers catered to the city's wealthy residents who preferred not to own a single-family home. The building is located directly across the street from Wick Park, which was the centerpiece of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods during the early twentieth century. Residents enjoyed their close proximity to the park, Stambaugh Auditorium, Youngstown State University, and the many stately mansions along Fifth Avenue. Parkway Towers contained 44 luxury apartment units which ranged in size from one to two bedrooms each. Furthermore, the building distinguished itself from other residential buildings of the time by having a steel frame. Due to this, the building was even dubbed as Youngstown's "first modern fire-proof apartments." Parkway Towers' luxury amenities did not end there. Residents and visitors entering the building would be greeted by a well-dressed doorman which added to the property's prestige. After walking through the front doors, they would find a small convenience store on the first floor which sold various necessities to the building's elite residents. An electric elevator operated at the end of the hall and allowed tenants to travel to their apartment units with ease. Another feature residents enjoyed was the oak wood-plank flooring found within each unit. Due to its luxury appeal, Parkway Towers was home to many prominent Youngstowners over the years such as world-famous filmmaker Jack Warner. Unfortunately, like so many other historically significant structures in Youngstown, Parkway Towers has been abandoned and left to rot over the past few decades. As white flight took its toll on the City of Youngstown, Wick Park's wealthy residents slowly began to filter out into the newly prosperous suburbs of Boardman, Canfield, Liberty, and Poland. As a result, Parkway Towers could no longer operate under its original luxury apartment model. In the coming decades, Parkway Towers was run by various property management companies. The building slowly transitioned from luxury apartments to middle class apartments and finally to poorly managed low-income apartments. Parkway Towers was still mostly occupied until the dawn of the twenty-first century. For incredibly cheap prices, residents could rent out a grand and spacious apartment unit on the upper floors that had incredible views of Wick Park and Downtown. However, the pros of renting a unit here during the 1990's were vastly outweighed by the cons. The building was operated by a management firm that could best be described as "slumlords." The entire property was severely outdated and had not received nearly any updates since the 1950's. This left most units and common spaces within the tower to crumble. Furthermore, the decline and neglect of the building led to even cheaper rent prices which unfortunately attracted some problematic renters. Eventually, the building became too unsafe to live in and too unprofitable to renovate which led to its abandonment in the 2000's. PRESENT Today, Parkway Towers is owned and operated by Simcha Vashulem LLC, a New York City based investment firm. The company has left the historic structure to rot and have shown little to no interest in maintaining it. Currently, the building is being operated as a makeshift cell tower. If you look at the top of the building, you will notice an array of antennas which make the building even more of an eyesore. Simcha Vashulem LLC is doing the bare minimum to keep the building maintained in order to profit off of it as a cell tower. In other words, they are only making sure it does not collapse. When I posted a photo of Parkway Towers on the Youngstown Subreddit, I was shocked to see how many individuals have had personal experiences with this building. In particular, a user that goes by the screen-name "Iwannawearyourskin" shared a story about his work on the building over the past six years and the current state of the interior. According to him, there is severe roof damage which has led to intense water leaks into the interior. He went on to describe an experience he had inside the building during a thunderstorm; "My coworker and I made it inside the building to witness water pouring like a waterfall from the roof through the top apartment ceiling , that wood floor is water damaged and the water pours into the next apartment and makes its way into the elevator shaft. When you get to the basement the water floods the shaft and the boiler room." He believes that there is "nothing left of value" inside the building; the damage is simply too extensive. To make matters worse, the investment firm owes thousands of dollars in back taxes to the City of Youngstown. Believe it or not, tax evasion from out of state "investors" is a huge problem all over the city which often goes unchecked. However, it usually occurs with single family homes, not an eight story apartment tower. Therefore, Parkway Towers' situation has drawn unique attention from both the city and community improvement organizations. FUTURE Fortunately, the City of Youngstown has recently established a team dedicated to fighting blight. The team will be based out of Youngstown Law Director Jeff Limbian's office and will assign an attorney to work on taking back various blighted properties from incompetent owners. When asked to comment on the new program for a WYTV report, Limbian stated; "We are going to try to work with people to remedy blighted commercial properties. If they don’t do it then we are going to work in eminent domain issues, assessing tax statements and ultimately see if we can have those become city properties." Predictably, one of the main properties this new anti-blight effort is targeting is Parkway Towers. But even if the City manages to reclaim this historic structure, what could it even be used for? Though the Wick Park neighborhood is constantly improving, it is still unlikely that there is much of a demand for 44 luxury apartment units today. One intriguing idea for Parkway Towers that has floated around in recent years is to turn it into a boutique hotel. Though the location may seem a bit undesirable for a hotel at first, once you think about it more, it becomes apparent that such a plan could actually work. Parkway Towers is only one block away from the highway (Madison Avenue Expressway), two blocks from Stambaugh Stadium, three blocks from Youngstown State University, and directly across the street from the spacious Wick Park and elegant Stambaugh Auditorium. Obviously, the hotel route is one of the most ambitious ideas for Parkway Towers, but if the right investor came along, it could work. A more realistic approach would be to find a way to incorporate it into Youngstown State University. The university already has many of its residence halls in the Wick Park neighborhood such as the Cafaro and Lyden Houses. In addition to these halls, there is a privately owned student apartment complex (Flats at Wick) and hundreds of students live in various rental properties around the neighborhood. With the recent announcement of the university's new Cafaro Field along Madison Avenue, it is clear that YSU is interested in expanding into the Wick Park area. Parkway Towers could be utilized by them in a variety of ways. One possibility would be to convert it into a residence hall. The units inside Parkway Tower are larger than the average college dorm, but they could either be subdivided or made into large premium dorms for students who prefer apartment-style living. It's hard to tell exactly what the future has in store for this historic gem of Youngstown. It could either be renovated or continue to decay until it is demolished. But one thing is for sure; Youngstown has already lost enough of it's historically significant structures to blights over the past several decades. It's time to rally together as a community to stop the neglect of Parkway Towers and the countless other buildings just like it. That is the only way in which we will be able to see the renaissance of Parkway Towers and to witness Youngstown's blight problem finally begin to improve.
It is no secret that Youngstown's South Side has experienced a huge decline over the past few decades. However, many streets and neighborhoods in the South Side remain good and stable places to live. Despite the many downsides, this decline does have one advantage; affordable real estate listings. You can purchase a beautifully maintained home in one of the South Side's best neighborhoods for tens of thousands of dollars cheaper than you would pay for a similar house in Boardman. This blog post will highlight five of these homes which are located in various South Side neighborhoods. 4119 Euclid Boulevard This uniquely designed colonial-revival style home built in 1928 is located on Euclid Boulevard in Youngstown's Boulevard Park neighborhood. Boulevard Park, located south of Midlothian Boulevard, remains one of Youngstown's most sought after neighborhoods. The neighborhood is centered around two beautiful tree lined boulevards and has a unique mix of colonial-revival and tudor-revival style homes. But enough about the neighborhood; let's look at what makes this property such a great place to live! The home has an extensive back deck with a covered porch for sitting as well as a grilling area and flower garden. The front of the house is also well landscaped. The inside of the house is beautifully maintained and features updated appliances. PRICE: $73,000 BUILT: 1928 BEDROOMS: 3 BATHROOMS: 1.5 SQUARE FEET: 1,496 338 Hilton Avenue Unlike the other houses in this article, 338 Hilton Avenue is located in a neighborhood that is still struggling and has not seen many signs of improvement yet. However, its questionable location is more than made up for with the many modern features this house contains. This Cottage Grove neighborhood home is located right off of South Avenue and is three blocks north of Midlothian Boulevard. Unlike many of its counterparts in the neighborhood, this house is recently updated and has a lot of charm. The house has a completely redone kitchen with new cabinetry, ceramic tile, and granite counter-tops. Perhaps the most surprising part of the house is the modern recently redone bathroom featuring a large and spacious walk-in shower. As for the exterior, the roof is recently redone. PRICE: $50,000 BUILT: N/A BEDROOMS: 4 BATHROOMS: 2 SQUARE FEET: N/A 488 Mistletoe Avenue Located just one block away from Boardman's Historic District, this quaint cape cod style home is well maintained and full of charm. Mistletoe Avenue is full of architecturally unique homes from the 1930s and 40s. This neighborhood was once a prestigious middle class suburb catering to families that owned automobiles. To this day, most of the neighborhood's colonial-revival and tudor-revival homes are well maintained and the neighborhood is better off than many other South Side neighborhoods. Due to the unique large houses in Newport, it is likely that this neighborhood will begin to see more reinvestment. This home is a great deal for what you get. The interior is quaint and kept up nicely. One of the only downsides of the house itself is the fact that it only has one rather small mint-green colored bathroom. But considering how beautiful the rest of the house is, 488 Mistletoe remains a great opportunity for home-buyers looking to get the best bang for their buck. PRICE: $35,000 BUILT: 1942 BEDROOMS: 3 BATHROOMS: 1 SQUARE FEET: 1,749 954 Canfield Road This $44,000 cape cod house built in 1938 may just be the best value on this list. The home is located on Canfield Road just one block away from Lanterman's Mill and all of the attractions of Mill Creek Park. This part of the Idora neighborhood, which is centered around Canfield Road, remains very stable and safe compared to many other parts of Idora. Canfield Road in particular is lined with gorgeous brick houses including several large tudor homes on the block closest to the park. The inside of this home is very well taken care of; And considering the amount of decorations, it may even be too well taken care of! Most appliances as well as the air conditioner, garage, and windows have all been updated fairly recently. This property is a perfect home considering its great location and beautifully maintained interior. In my opinion, it is the best home on this list. PRICE: $44,000 BUILT: 1938 BEDROOMS: 2 BATHROOMS: 1.5 SQUARE FEET: 1,171 902 Lanterman Avenue Similarly to the previous house on Canfield Road, 902 Lanterman Avenue is located in one of the nicest sections of the Idora neighborhood. Though slightly farther from Lantermans Mill, the house is less than a five minute walk from the mill and everything else Mill Creek Park has to offer. The inside of the house is well kept and is painted in various vibrant colors. For a four bedroom house that is in good shape, the $29,900 price tag makes it an incredibly good deal. Plus, unlike many Youngstown homes, this property comes with home insurance rather than being "sold as is." PRICE: $29,900
BUILT: N/A BEDROOMS: 4 BATHROOMS: 1 SQUARE FEET: 1,558 |