The landscape of Youngstown State University will look quite different when returning students move onto campus for the Fall semester in four weeks.

Heavy equipment was brought in the demolish the nearly half-century-old M60 Parking Deck last week at the corner of Lincoln and Fifth Avenues.

 

  YSU

 The demolition clears the way for a 163-space surface parking lot that university officials say should be completed by the end of October.

YSU says nearly all of the materials for the deck will be recycled. The Director of Support Services told 21 News the demolition project cost about $620,000. 

Over the last two years, the University says portions of the deck have become unusable. In 2021, levels 3 and 4 were closed. Level 2 was closed earlier this year.

 

Until the new lot is open, YSU has created the 285-space M81 lot along the Madison Avenue Expressway Eastbound Service Road and Elm Street, as well as created the Deibel Park walkway, opening 100 spaces on the Eastbound Service Road to the campus.

The University says the M72 lot on Ford Avenue has been improved with 131 spaces. In addition, to address overnight parking needs from the M60 deck, a new overnight lot, R67 on Fifth Avenue behind Enterprise Rent-A-Car, will be completed this summer with 36 new spaces.

Those who were parking at the M60 deck can find alternative parking in the M70 lot just west of Fifth Avenue between Arlington and Grant streets or the M30 parking deck on Wick Avenue. Additional parking is also available west of the M70 lot in the M71, M72 and M66 parking lots.

"It's a great compliment to the Fifth Ave. project and now we can come up the street and we'll see Cafaro, Cushwa and DeBartolo Halls. We'll have nice trees and it's going to get a new look to it," said Danny O'Connell, Director of Support Services for YSU. 

The project is expected to be completed by the end of October 2022.