Redevelopment coming to Wedgewood Plaza in Austintown

The warehouse located at 1741 South Racoon Road in Wedgewood Plaza has been a movie theatre, bowling alley and several nightclubs.

The former home of Wedgewood Lanes has sat vacant for a few years.

Now, a father-daughter duo are working to redevelop the property by building the largest gym in Mahoning County and adding in retail spots.

"I think what we're doing to it, the community is going to be very grateful," said Mike Stanec, Owner of Body Shop Total Fitness. "It's just going to help all the businesses in the area."

The Wedgewood Plaza on Raccoon Road is currently undergoing renovations to make space for a new Body Shop Total Fitness and other retail stores. 

"We've been talking about expanding for a really long time so when we saw this has been a staple in the community for so long and it's been empty, we figured, why not," said Kaitlin Stanec, Co-Owner of Body Shop Total Fitness.

Mike Stanec told 21 News the old nightclub will become a basketball court, and the new gym will be connected to the court. They also plan to offer a variety of fitness classes in the new space. 

So far, construction crews have gutted out the old buildings, leaving only some walls and the floors. As renovations continue, they completed roof renovations this past summer. 

"We really want this to be a resource for the community," Kaitlin added, "Not just Austintown but all the surrounding counties too so, we're looking to have local school districts partner with us and use our facility too."

The Stanecs have been in touch with Austintown Local Schools and they plan to offer the space to student-athletes. According to Stanec, the plaza will be home to a smoothie shop, Froze, and a construction company. 

"We're not sure exactly who is going to get in yet but we've had a lot of interest we had a grocery store contact us," Mike added. "We had a barber shop and beauty shop show interest as well."

Francis Whalen frequents the gym and the plaza and says there are endless benefits to the new concept.

"This is an amazing opportunity," Whalen said. "Especially for the growth within the community and for the younger kids. It gives them something to do and something to venture out when they're sitting at home when they're not playing sports or active, and keeps them off the streets."

Renovations are expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.