NILES, Ohio - The Eastwood Mall in Niles has long been a hub for shopping, dining, and entertainment. But now, it's about to become something even more impactful...an economic education and career training ground for thousands of local students.

"Junior Achievement is going to be putting together what essentially is a small town in the upper level of Eastwood Mall," Joe Bell, Spokesperson for Eastwood Mall said.

Continuing its push to make students career ready, Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio is investing nearly three million dollars into the creation of the JA Economic Education & Workforce center which will soon house two nationally acclaimed learning experiences: JA BizTown and JA Finance Park.

BizTown brings classroom lessons to life as 4th through 6th graders run their own businesses, while at Finance Park, middle and high school students step into the adult world, managing household budgets, navigating real-life financial scenarios, and learning what it takes to balance income and expenses.

"Students in BizTown are upper elementary grades four through six, they're going to prepare for certain careers in the town space," Michele Merkel, President of Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio said. "They're going to be CEOs, CFOs. They're going to be bankers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, DJs, you name it, contractors, trade skills. For the Finance Park, middle and high school. Instead of running the town and performing those jobs, they're going to budget their income and expenses and manage their household budgets."

The more than 15-thousand square foot center is under construction now at the Eastwood Mall with a grand opening projected for Spring 2026.

"Eastwood mall has always been the center of community life for so many people, and we believe in helping to nurture the important things in the community, like our children," Bell said. "We want to help in their education. We want to be part of this effort to make the Mahoning Valley a better place for kids to grow up and to start businesses and to be productive citizens."

"The timing of this is essential," Guy Coviello, President and CEO of Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber said. "We're growing jobs at a rapid pace. We found out yesterday about Foxconn's long term interest and investments in the Mahoning Valley, and it aligns with other companies that have made long term commitments to grow jobs here, and so the timing of launching BizTown in 2026 is going to be perfect for growing the talent pool here."

JA says the center will serve tens of thousands of students each year, not just from the Valley, but from as far away as Cranberry, Pennsylvania and Canton, Ohio.

"The thought of bringing kids here from as far away as Canton, from as far away as Cranberry and exposing them to what this community has to offer, so that when they make decisions about launching their careers and where they're going to live, we've had plenty of time to influence them and show them that there's some great stuff right here," Coviello said.

The effort still needs $1.5 million in fundraising with naming rights and sponsorships available to community partners ready to invest in the region's future.