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RN Seeks to Open Training Center in Masters Building
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- A long-vacant South Side eyesore, the former Masters Tuxedo building, could see new life in the next half-year as a training center for certified nursing assistants and other health-care support staff.
Corey Kemp, a Youngstown resident and registered nurse, proposes to open Allied Health Training in the building at 3600 Market St., just north of Midlothian Boulevard. Before Masters Tuxedo occupied the building, its was the longtime home of Paul Morris Sporting Goodsr.
Built in 1950, the 23,690-square-foot building is owned by the city Land Reutilization Program, or land bank, according to the Mahoning County Auditor’s website. The building, which the city acquired in December 2010, had been slated for demolition.
“I was driving past the building one day and I saw that it had been vacant for a while, and I thought it would be an excellent location,” Kemp said of his plans. Seven months ago, he contacted the city, which agreed to hold off on demolishing the structure if he could present a “proper business plan” for consideration.
Kemp plans to renovate about 5,000 square feet of the structure initially for his business, which will offer training for certified nursing assistants. Demand is high for nursing assistants due to the high turnover rate in senior care and skilled nursing facilities, he told the city Design Review Committee at its meeting Tuesday. Job openings are in nursing homes and hospitals and for private duty care, he said. He plans to offer a two-week course for assistants.
The committee reviewed and approved Kemp’s application for improvements to the exterior of the building. The approval of the committee, which normally covers downtown, was required because Kemp is seeking assistance from the city’s façade program.
Proposed improvements to the Market Street building include weatherizing the structure, rebuilding the mason wall, replacing broken widows, relocating the main entrance and installing an additional side entrance, restoring soffits, painting the exterior, and installing corrugated facade panels, according to the application.
A sign for the building will be modeled on the design of the entrance to the Williamson College of Business Administration, with aluminum letters measuring 2.7 feet high, Kemp said.
The total cost for the façade work would be $18,885, and the city’s share, if the application is approved, would be 40%, or $7,554, said Tom DeAngelo, city economic development coordinator. He said he has been working with Kemp for some time trying to identify a site for the project.
Plans being discussed with the city call for Kemp to get title of the building from the land bank if he puts the equivalent of the building’s appraised value, or $80,000, into the structure. “It’ll need about $75,000 to $100,000 as far as renovation to bring it up to code and just to make it feasible for the business we’re trying to put into this building,” he said.
The county auditor’s website shows the total market value of the site at $215,330. Bill D’Avignon, community development director and chairman of the design review committee, and T. Sharon Woodberry, said an appraisal of the property was done in December that produced the $80,000 appraisal.
The city will track the amount of investment, D’Avignon said.
The spending Kemp has proposed just covers the initial 5,000 square feet of space for the business, which his contractor has told him should take about three to six months. He plans to empty and rehabilitate the remainder of the structure for future development. “As the business grows we’ll be able to grow into that space,” he said.
A deal for the project is not finalized, Woodberry said. “There’s a lot of details that still need to be worked out,” she said.
DeAngelo anticipates that Kemp will seek other assistance from the city through its Youngstown Initiative program. “But we will have to find out how the transfer of the building plays into it,” he said.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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