Economy

Youngstown takes next step to revive 20 Federal Place with Appalachian grant help

Youngstown is taking another run at the full potential of 20 Federal Place: the city's Board of Control has approved accepting technical assistance through the Appalachian Regional Commission's Opportunity Appalachia initiative to re-envision the historic downtown building.

The project was among six in Ohio — and 16 overall — selected for the program, which helps Appalachian communities in designated federal Opportunity Zones attract investment to specific projects. The city will provide $5,000 in in-kind matching services as its share of working with the consulting team.

The assistance will be used to prepare a market-driven redevelopment strategy for 20 Federal Place, a National Register historic department store with the potential for adaptive reuse as a vibrant mixed-use building anchoring Phelps Street and the east end of the West Federal Street district, said urban planner Hunter Morrison, a senior fellow in urban studies at Cleveland State University who worked with the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments and Youngstown State University to secure the funding.

Working with the city, the program will engage professional development consultants to prepare a market-supportable mixed-use strategy, structure investable transactions and create a prospectus and pitch deck targeting Qualified Opportunity Fund investors, Morrison said. The effort comes after an earlier redevelopment deal for the building fell through: the city ended its partnership with a Dallas-based developer last year and returned $24 million in historic tax credits to the state.

Sources: The Business Journal Daily (Oct 23, 2026); Appalachian Regional Commission, Opportunity Appalachia program.

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