You may recall back in August of 2022 when 21 News reported on Youngstown City Council's purchase of a former McDonald's building to make it a substation for the Youngstown Police Department.

Now, one councilwoman tells 21 News that the building is shaping up to be much more than that.

Back in August of 2022, Youngstown Council purchased the former McDonald's property at 2525 Market Street with $161,000 in ARP funds. Now, 6th Ward Councilwoman Anita Davis is discussing updated plans for this building.

Davis tells 21 News this building will act as a community center targeted towards senior citizens, but this building will have plenty more to offer.

"A lot of it's going to be senior-directed but it's going to be a center that's open to everyone," Davis told 21 News on Friday.

This includes office space for police officers, a warming and cooling station for the winter and summer seasons, a studio for a community access television channel, and a women's pantry.

"People from this area here would not have to go all the way downtown just to get personal hygiene items," Davis added. "They could just pull up to the drive-through window."

Davis says that the television studio could act as an educational experience for folks aspiring to get into television production.

Davis tells us it will cost up to $800,000 to get the building up and running. Just like the purchase of the building itself, this funding will come from ARP funds. 

It's assumed the council will approve the ARP dollars for the project during its upcoming meeting on Wednesday, May 1.

A town hall meeting will be held at the Newport Library located at 3730 Market Street on May 22 at 5:00 p.m. where the community is encouraged to share what they'd want to see in this center.

"The community is so glad for it to not still be sitting empty and not to have it be one more boarded-up building or bricked-in building," Davis concluded.

The City of Youngstown must spend its allocated ARP dollars by December 31, 2024.