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STEUBENVILLE -- For years the city's plans to spruce up the downtown streetscape and revitalize Blum Park gathered dust, waiting for the day Steubenville would have the money to bring it to fruition.
They're hoping that time is now, when the governor's Appalachian Community Grant program holds the promise of hundreds of millions of dollars to fund "transformational" infrastructure, work force or health care projects in Ohio's 32 Appalachian counties.
In July, City Council voted to add its projects to an application being developed by Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District is that weaves projects in 18 Appalachian counties together in one, cohesive application -- meeting an early requirement of the grant program that projects "connect communities and encourage partnerships" across county lines.
There's another application in the works, that one spearheaded by Jefferson County Port Authority with the Ohio-Mideastern Government Association, but activities associated with that application haven't been shared.
The application portal opens in November and slams shut a month later, with funding decisions expected in early 2024.
Because the city already had the plans for those core projects, melding them into the JSWCD application was relatively painless: Project Manager Aaron Dodds said all they needed was a little updating.
"That's the value of having both concepts and shovel ready projects," Steubenville Urban Projects Director Chris Petrossi said. "It shows the value of having the right plan."
The plans include:
• A historic district streetscape revitalizing Market, Washington and North streets. The 20-year-old plan "was just updated to meet the current needs," Dodds said, with all new sidewalks, parking, streetlights and associated infrastructure.
• As part of the streetscape project, he said they also plan to redo the Floto building, which had been on the Land Bank's tear down list on 4th Street.
Built in 1877, the Floto building is named after August Floto, a former mayor. The Flotos were stonemasons, which is why there's ornamental stone over the windows on the building.
"Before the Carnegie Library opened, August Floto provided a library space rent-free to the citizens of Steubenville," Dodds said.
Gutted by fire in 1879 and rebuilt, he said the plumbing and wiring will have to be redone. Not all the woodwork can be saved, so they're working with "a couple of contractors with salvage operations so we can introduce historical features back into it," Dodds said.
Dodds said city officials want to make a retail space on the first floor and convert the second floor into a business incubator with meeting rooms on the third floor.
"It's close to the courthouse, so lawyers could go there to meet with clients or if people need small gathering spaces, it'd be perfect," Dodds said. "It will have computers available that people can use for telemedicine or virtual calls."
The catch?
"The building is in deplorable shape," he said. "It's a complete gut job and complete renovation inside. The nice part is it's only 20-foot wide and there's lot of historical context to it and it played a vital role in Steubenville history."
• Working with Steubenville Cultural Trust to convert the old college building on Washington Street, Castle Hall, into an artisan center. The privately-owned building is in the process of being transferred to SCT.
"It will allow local artisans to sell and craft things, have workshops there," Dodds said. "We have that tied into art centers in Muskingum, Sciota and Highland counties."
• Revitalizing Steubenville's riverfront, reimagining Washington Wharf, also known as Blum Park. The plans have been on the shelf since the 1990s.
"In the 1990s they were going to completely redo it," he said. "We think we can still revitalize and redo it using the plans." Due to the jail being built in that area, he said there'd be one less parking lot.
He said the goal is to "reconnect people to the river."
• They'd also like to work a walking/biking trail into the riverfront recreation mix, including taking a second look at the possibility of a trail connecting Blum Park to the marina.
"We'd like to look at that and still explore that option, looking at the private landowners in between," he said. "But if not there, the marina is connected to Franklin Street where they've already built the connector and the Blum Park/Washington Wharf area could be connected to the Historic Business District on Fourth Street.
"Obviously, as part of the streetscape project, we'd be installing bike pathways that will (part of) The Great American Rail Trail and we're also going to be utilizing an old plan the city has to redo/enhance the green space across from the courthouse," Dodds said.
• Upping the ante in the greenspace next to the city building at the corner of Market and 3rd streets.
"They have an old plan which included creating a large square that went from the doors of courthouse to the doors of the city building," he said. "We'd adjust it so Market Street is still open. It would be tied in with our 3D murals (vision) with statues and landscaping that will now incorporate the greenspace across from Towers Building and the parking lot commissioners have."
Commissioners recently decided to join JSWCD's grant application. They're planning to pave a parking lot across from the Tower building and demo two structures next to it, where they want to put a greenspace.
"They've talked about reviving a plan Soil andWater did in 2015 for a 'Crocetti Park,' a tribute to Dean Martin," he said. "We could do a patio and walkway in the shape of a music note, with a statue of Dean Martin anchoring it. Then at the back, there could be a place for food trucks."
He said another option would be a patio and pathway shaped like an artist's palette, a tribute to the artist Thomas Cole.
He describes them as "3D murals" and said they're honroing "looking at several illustrious people from Jefferson County and Steubenville."
"We can do art pieces, whether it's a statue or landscaping, to pay homage to them and dress up vacant lots and parking areas," he said. "There's Dean Martin, Thomas Cole, the Fighting McCooks -- they were a family of Civil War generals from here, a family of 14 and nine of them were generals. Edward McCook was born in Steubenville and buried in Union Cemetery, he actually freed the slaves in Florida; George McCook also practiced law and partnered with Edwin Stanton, Lincoln's Secretary of War."
The art installations bring the community's heritage to the forefront, he said, "and bring pride of place back to the region."
• Urban Mission has several projects -- completing the Plaza, a food warehouse they're hoping will "turn into more of a food hub," a green space and a streetscape project -- but hasn't decided which application, JSWCD or the port authority, is a better fit.
Regardless, Dodds said the Appalachian Community grant program is a "phenomenal opportunity."
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Dodds said. "The amazing part is the way the law was written, it forces people to take different approaches. We have to look at embracing what makes us unique, what makes us Appalachian Ohio vs trying to 'keep up with the Jones of other areas."
"It's huge," Petrossi added. "So many times we plan but money just isn't there to make it come to fruition. Here's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get some huge plans off the ground and up and running and get projects completed."