YOUNGSTOWN The City of Youngstown and Liberty Township are hosting a public open house tonight to gather community input on the Belmont Avenue Corridor Study, a component of the ongoing Build Better Belmont Initiative.

The open house is scheduled for 6 p.m. today, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, at the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown, 505 Gypsy Lane. The event is designed to inform residents, business owners, and other stakeholders about the project's goals and progress, offering them a chance to provide feedback directly to the project consultant.

The Belmont Avenue Corridor Study seeks to develop strategies for enhancing the area for residents, shoppers, diners, and travelers. The initiative’s partners state that community input will be a key factor in shaping the future of the Belmont Avenue corridor, which was previously described in a planning grant application as “non-descript, lacking cohesion and unappealing.”

The initiative centers on a strategic planning and preliminary engineering effort for the corridor of Belmont Avenue (State Route 193). The stretch extends from the downtown Youngstown intersection with West Federal Street north to the Interstate 80 interchange and the lightly developed expanses beyond.

Key priorities for the Build Better Belmont Coalition include:

  • Engagement to increase the corridor's visibility.
  • Planning to establish design and development standards.
  • Placemaking through streetscape improvements, cleanups, and reducing vacancy.

Belmont Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the Mahoning Valley and is considered a key economic driver for the region. It serves as the primary route to Mercy Health, which houses the region's only Level 1 Trauma Center, a Primary Stroke Center, and is the largest employer in Mahoning County. The corridor is also home to numerous medical practices and health care support services.