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Erie Terminal Place Ready for Tenants
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Developer Dominic Marchionda allows there were times during refurbishing the Erie Terminal building that the challenges seemed insurmountable.
Now, a little over a year after work began, Marchionda, managing member of Erie Terminal Place, is preparing to welcome the first tenants to the 40-unit apartment building. The apartments range from one- to three-bedroom units for a total of 62 beds.
Tenants could move in as early as Aug. 1, he says, during an interview less than a week before that date. Tradesmen continued to put the finishing touches on the 7,800-square-foot former train station constructed in 1923.
Marchionda bought the building last year from Cleveland developer Lou Frangos for $740,000.
"It's absolutely exciting. You're bringing a building back to life and delivering a product to the community that is back to kind of the original concept, if you will," Marchionda says. The president of DJD&C Development Inc. and U.S. Campus Suites, he also is the developer of the Flats at Wick, targeted at Youngstown State University students.
Erie Terminal is attracting a mix of tenants that include professionals, graduate and undergraduate college students, and people interested in living downtown, says property manager Jessica Vivo Morgione.
“The residential component will be done over the next 10 days. We'll be 100% complete," Marchionda predicts. Demand for the space is "well beyond our expectations,” Marchionda reports. Pre-leasing began a month and a half ago and the building is a little over half full.
The design of the building incorporates elements that evoke its history, including the font used for the room numbers. "I tried to use period lighting and repeated what was actually here," says Jackie Marchionda, Dominic's wife, whom he credits with the interior design elements.
"I really didn't change much. I just kind of freshened everything up," she remarks. The building, which qualified for a historic-preservation tax credit, makes use of the original marble, terrazzo and crown moldings. A model apartment features wood signs that also reference the period, and she also points out that the main concourse area is completely restored.
"It was important for us to keep the integrity of the building. We were excited about the fact that this building had so much history," she says. "Many of our residents [are] here in this valley. Their ancestors came through this train station looking for the American Dream and coming here for jobs. That's what built Youngstown and made it great. So to appreciate that and honor that, we wanted to bring the history to the forefront for the residents and for the community. But we also wanted to show that's where we were and this is where we're going."
Her husband picks up the conversation. "The most challenging things we found were things like the windows. The windows had to be a certain design and complement the history of the building."
Issues also came into play with ceiling heights and corridor openings and widths, “the things you were and weren't allowed to do,” he says. “Those were all challenges. You needed to overcome them” and let the plan fit within the building.
Although it’s likely most the property's target market has never ridden a train, Jackie Marchionda believes young people deserve "a little more credit" for appreciating history. "They're excited about historical buildings," she remarks. "They're interested in what happened before they were here and I think they’ll get the best of both worlds. They get all the modern conveniences plus a wonderful old building with a lot of history.”
Each apartment has its own common area/living room, furniture and a fully equipped kitchen, and each bedroom has a walk-in closet and personal bath. Each floor has a laundry room and security cameras have been installed throughout.
"Everyone's been extremely impressed by the look of the units," Morgione says.
The modern conveniences in the building – a structure that retains a mail slot that extends from floor to floor – include wiring for Internet access.
"We did the cabling for all six floors," reports Crissa Palowitz, account executive for DRS LLC, Youngstown. DRS provided the network in the building. That includes the switches, firewall, controller, 18 access points (three per floor) and more than 40,000 feet of cabling. "Last but not least, we sold them their fiber connection so they're connected back to our data center on Belmont Avenue," she says.
Other than preparing space for Friends Roastery, a coffee shop he expects to open on the first floor no later than Oct. 1, and other remaining commercial space, "we're really not focused on anything until we definitely sign with somebody," Marchionda says, and the space will be prepared to suit the needs of the tenant or tenants.
While he reports "significant" interest from potential retail and commercial tenants, "we are being very selective,” he says, “and we're not going to sacrifice the integrity and the character of the building just to fill the space."
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngtown, Ohio.