Youngstown awaiting SHPO go-ahead for Cold Storage condo plans

Oct. 4—As the Village of Youngstown plans to approve a new condominium development at the vacant Cold Storage Building site, it's now waiting on the state's Historic Preservation Office to give the go-ahead.

Project Investor Anthony DeMiglio said that during the SEQR process, one of the questions asked was if the property was on the state's historical registry or is eligible to be on it, which it is. When he contacted the office about his plans, they requested information on why it could not be reused.

'It's important getting the acknowledgment from them," DeMiglio said, with the village sending Historic Preservation officials a condemnation letter and list of other failed developments.

The response went to the Historic Preservation Office two weeks ago, with the village expecting a response within 30 days.

DeMiglio and Creative Structure Services have sought to build the new $7 million condominium complex at 701 Nancy Price Drive. Their plans have 17 units on the 2.13-acre property, planned to sell between $450,000 and $500,000.

The village and Niagara County planning boards already gave their approval for the project site plans and rezoning of the parcel from general commercial and single-family residential to general residencies.

CSS wants to start demolition later this fall once they get the final approval from the village board, with construction taking a year to complete starting this coming spring. The site had been vacant since 2001 with many other redevelopment plans coming and going since then.