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If you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of development happening in our area.
Expansion at Franciscan Square is continuing, with five new restaurants -- Scooter’s Coffee, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, Buffalo Wild Wings Go and Cinnabon -- joining the Harp and Habbit, Rubi’s Pizza and Grill and Jimmy John’s. That makes the complex on University Boulevard a convenient place to stop for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a quick snack.
A little bit farther down the hill, the Franciscan University of Steubenville’s latest project is well under way. Sitting across from Franciscan Square, the facility is expected to house about 400 students when it opens in August. Its separate residence halls for men and women will be connected by a commons area.
One of its notable features will be an elevator that will not only serve the building but will lead to the roof and a bridge that will cross onto the upper campus. That will make it easier for students to move between the upper and lower campuses and will make the businesses at Franciscan Square -- and attractions like the green space there or the seasonal Rink at Franciscan Square -- more easily available.
Those are sizable investments on their own -- and that’s just along university boulevard.
But when you add the investments being made in the downtown area and consider the plans being formulated by St. Joseph the Worker College along with other downtown projects, and you combine that with what’s happening -- and what could be happening -- in the West End, you find the city appears to be on an economic upswing.
The opening of Youngstown State University-Steubenville means the building that sits along Sunset Boulevard is being used for what it was intended when it was built 60 years ago -- offering an affordable option for area residents who are looking to build on their education. The mission has changed during those years, with the focus of the original Jefferson County Technical Institute having shifted to that of a four-year college.
Officials with YSU have acknowledged that the school’s offerings are different, but its commitment to the community remains the same. That includes supporting area events and serving as a welcoming place for meetings and other gatherings -- like the Steubenville Art Association’s 77th-annual Art Show, which opened Thursday, and the candidates forum that will be held by the Business and Professional Women’s Club Oct. 5.
Plus, county officials are continuing to work on plans to develop the land that had served as the lower parking lot of the old Eastern Gateway Community College. Just what will happen there remains to be determined, but it’s an attractive location, sitting where it does at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and John Scott Highway -- one of the busiest intersections in the Tri-State Area.
There’s been other progress, too. The 7 Ranges entertainment complex at the Fort Steuben Mall continues to attract patrons from across the Tri-State Area, whether it’s to play some games, bowl, have an evening drink, enjoy a meal or hold any type of meeting.
The mall itself remains an issue, with all of the other businesses --with the exception of 7 Ranges and J.C. Penney -- having been forced to relocate or close after the facility was condemned by the city.
But with that comes opportunity -- the right developer with the right vision and the right amount of money likely will eventually bring new life to the property that was a vital part of the community for 50 years or so.
There’s no doubt all of that development helps the city and the surrounding areas. Consider the report issued Sept. 9 that shows Franciscan University added $81.2 million in income to the region and supported 1,146 regional jobs during the 2024-25 fiscal years.
One of the most visible signs of changes coming to the area is happening at the corner of Fourth and Market streets in downtown Steubenville. That’s where construction continues on what will become the Oyo Brewing Co.
Andrew Sharples, developer and owner, said when it’s complete, the facility will generate traffic to the downtown area.
That should also help spur additional development.
Several buildings along Market Street are being torn down to make his plans possible. In the downtown area, strategic demolition of buildings that no longer have historical characteristics is the key to improving the infrastructure, he told members of the Steubenville Rotary club during Wednesday’s meeting.
“I think we just need a little bit of flexibility on deciding what buildings are worth saving and how we rebuild them and make them fit the historic character downtown, because everybody deserves a good downtown where everybody can come,” he said. “It should not feel exclusive. It should not be dangerous. It should be a safe, healthy place.”
A key will be leveraging the out-of-state money students and their parents bring to Franciscan University, as well as dollars that likely will come from residents from across the Tri-State Area once the facility is running, hopefully, in August. It’s a place, he emphasized, that will be for everybody.
“One of the funniest things I have seen on social media is that we will be just a Franciscan-only bar or brewery,” Sharples said. “I don’t know who that was, but I saw that had been circulated to around 20,000 people. I want to assure you, it is not. Our focus is the local population. Having a college here is only an added bonus, as something that can bring in out-of-town dollars.”
He said that the early August opening will attract a large number of local residents, which will allow the staff and management with the brewery and its restaurant partner, Martoni’s Pizza Co., to be better prepared when students start returning to the college later that month.
“We don’t expect freshmen to be spending money there, but we do expect their parents to be looking for something to do, and we really hope they don’t go to Wheeling or to Pittsburgh to spend their money. We want to make sure that we have a nice transition in, so it’s not a slam the whole time,” Sharples added.
Downtown has already seen a lot of development in the small business that have sprung up in recent years. First Fridays on Fourth continue to bring people together for the monthly street fair. And, of course, the Steubenville Nutcracker Village draws people from around the world for its annual presentation, thanks to the efforts of Mark Nelson and his family and the Steubenville Cultural Trust.
Now, add the possibility of the National High School Football Hall of Fame choosing Steubenville as its permanent home, and the future could look even brighter. City officials have learned the community has been added to a very short list of candidates for the hall. If that happens, it has the potential to transform the look and feel of the city.
Is there a reason to be skeptical? Of course -- area residents have been hearing about plans to revitalize the city since businesses started moving out in 1970s. Only a handful of those ideas have come to fruition.
This time, however, there are visible signs of change -- from construction along University Boulevard to the work being done by St. Joseph the Worker to the buildings being cleared for the brewery.
There seems to be a lot of momentum, which should bode well for the city overall, and the downtown in particular.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is senior writer of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)