The Ohio General Assembly’s proposed 2019-20 state capital bill includes $4 million to Youngstown State University to help fund the Mahoning Valley Innovation and Commercialization Center in downtown Youngstown.
If approved, it will be the second consecutive biennial budget bill that includes a special allocation for the Innovation and Commercialization Center. YSU received $3 million for the project in the 2017-18 capital budget.
“This is a project that is important for YSU, for our regional manufacturing sector, for our local school districts and for the economic future of the entire Mahoning Valley,” President Jim Tressel said. “We thank the leaders of the great state of Ohio for their belief in our collaborative proposal.”
The cumulative $7 million in state capital funds are being used to fund the establishment of the center in a building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and West Commerce Street in downtown Youngstown, formerly owned by Mahoning County. YSU has also received $1 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission and $2 million from the U.S. Department of Economic Development for the project. The university will raise an
additional $14 million through an ongoing capital campaign led by the YSU Foundation.
The Mahoning Valley Innovation and Commercialization Center (MVICC) is a network that includes YSU, Eastern Gateway Community College, county career and technical centers, the Youngstown Business Incubator, America Makes, the Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center, regional economic development organizations and the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition. The center is slated be a shared resource training center designed to become a hub of workforce development, innovation and research, particularly focused on advanced manufacturing. In addition, the center will include all academic disciplines and innovation of all kinds, serving the entrepreneurial future of the Mahoning Valley and preparing students for the jobs of the future.
YSU would receive an additional $10.6 million in the proposed capital bill for a variety of campus building projects, including $2.3 million for renovations and expansion of the Physical Therapy program in Cushwa Hall, $1.75 million for structural improvements to Ward Beecher Science Hall, $1.5 million for renovations to the pedestrian bridge over Wick
Avenue, $1.1 million for campus roof replacements, $1 million for renovations to Fedor Hall and $684,000 for building-envelope renovations.
© 2018 Metro Monthly. All rights reserved.
