The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and its partners, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the City of Youngstown and Wick Neighbors, Inc. (WNI) will be hosting a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Wick District-Smoky Hollow Project. The ceremony will be held Tuesday, July 3, at 10 a.m. at Harrison Common, located on N. Walnut Street in Youngstown, Ohio.
The USACE District Commander, Col. William Graham together with Cong. Tim Ryan, Beth Thames, Deputy Director for Sherrod Brown, Former US Congressman John Boccieri, the Mayor, and Council representatives from the City of Youngstown will be attending the ceremony and offering remarks.
This portion of the Wick District-Smoky Hollow project involves the replacement of key water and sanitary sewer lines on North Walnut Street in Youngstown, Ohio. This improvement project will provide the infrastructure necessary to support commercial and residential development within the Wick District–Smoky Hollow Redevelopment Area. Successful completion of this project will bring WNI closer to its goal of redeveloping the historically rich “Smoky Hollow” as a regionally competitive, contemporary neighborhood.
The Corps of Engineers is providing $550,000 in funding as part of the Sec. 594 Ohio and North Dakota Environmental Infrastructure Program. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is providing $665,000 through its Economic Development Incentive Program. As one of the non-federal sponsors of this project, the City of Youngstown is providing $120,000 towards this construction, and WNI has already provided over $100,000 in contributions from local supporters and foundations. WNI received both the USACE grant and the HUD grant in 2010, and work began that year on designing and engineering the new infrastructure. Design and engineering work on the project was performed by CT Consultants.
The USACE Sec. 594 Program authorizes federal assistance to local communities to design and /or construct wastewater treatment and related facilities, combined sewer overflow, water supply, storage, treatment and related facilities, surface water resource protection and development, mine drainage issues that impact water supply and environmental restoration projects. These projects directly improve the environment and the quality of life in the program area and contribute to the national goal of improving environmental quality. The Sec. 594 Program is a cost sharing program, where the federal government provides 75 percent and a non-federal sponsor provides 25 percent of the total project costs.
For media inquiries, contact the Public Affairs Office at 412-395-7500 or email: celrp-pa@usace.army.mil. For questions regarding the Wick District-Smoky Hollow project contact the WNI office at 330-259-1750 or mmmorgan@wickneighbors.org.