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Youngstown Approves Demolition of Masters Tuxedo Block
"By Dan O'BrienYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The effort to rid downtown of long-standing blight reached another milestone last night as City Council cleared the way for demolition of a whole block of mostly vacant, dilapidated buildings.At last night's meeting, council voted to move ahead with razing the eyesore structures that occupy what is popularly known as the Masters Tuxedo block, named for the Masters Tuxedo building along Federal Street.Council voted 7-0 to give the city's board of control authority to advertise bids and enter into a professional services agreement for demolition of the buildings and construction of a 80-to 90-space parking lot.The entire project is expected to cost about $500,000, and the proposal was engineered for the entire block, said Carmen Conglose, deputy director of public works. However, there is still at least one business operating out of a building on the corner of Federal Street and Fifth Avenue, so it's still undetermined whether the whole block or most of the block will be demolished."We want to knock it down to get rid of the slum and blight, and then open the area up to future development," Conglose told reporters covering the meeting.Demolition and asbestos removal is expected to cost $350,000, while an additional $150,000 will be needed to construct the parking lot.Third Ward Councilman and Finance Committee Chairman Richard Atkinson said a new lot at that location makes sense, since Powers Auditorium, which is located across the street, is building a new amphitheater on land previously used as a parking lot that served the historic theater. Work could begin as early as 90 days from now, said David Bozanich, city finance director. The entire project should take between three to four months from demolition to construction.The Masters block stretches along the west end Federal Street from Fifth Avenue to Vindicator Square. Most of the buildings date to the 1920s. The largest was used to house the Masters Tuxedo company, which operated in the downtown until it closed in the late 1980s. Most of the buildings on the block have been vacant for more than 20 years, officials said."