Potential sites for a new safety service building for Youngstown are being narrowed down. City Council hired Strollo Architects to look at parcels of land all over the city and analyze the potential they have. 

The group will be looking at nearly 4 sites to build the multi-million dollar facility. The new building would be a hub for Youngstown, potentially including community spaces and the city's police and fire departments. A large part of the process includes finding a place that would make response time short.

“For example, we're not going to put the joint police and fire department at the edge, one of the edges of the city, that just wouldn't make sense,” Gregg Strollo, the President of Strollo Architects, said. 

One of the possible sites the group will be looking at is in the downtown area. The Youngstown Police Department is already located downtown but architects say a new building at the center of the city could have the most challenges because of the recent changes to the roads.

“God forbid you had to make a fast run down West Federal Street and someone was trying to park their car in the sort of narrow parallel parking space, it could hold up response times,” Strollo said. “The center of downtown is a challenge, but it doesn't mean it can't be met.”

The city has already talked about the possibility of the building going on Wick Avenue. The site was evaluated, and renderings of what the building could look like were made. However, city council members decided to look into other possibilities to see if the total cost of the building would go down.

“Size and dollars have a direct relationship,” Strollo said. 

The Wick Avenue site was originally planned to be 140,000 square feet according to Strollo. The architects are looking to condense that on the other sites but keep all the needs of the departments.

“[We] really try and press the client, in this case police and fire departments, to focus on needs. Wants are great; we'll hold them out there. If we get them, we will, but we need to really focus on what is necessary for operational efficiency,” Strollo said.

The idea of all departments under one roof has been thrown around by city officials for years. Strollo said big projects like this take time, but this specific project has gone smoothly.

“Development moves glacially, and government development, which has a lot more hoops to jump through, just requires a really thoughtful and purposeful process,” Strollo said.

Discussions about other sites for the building and designs will start in 2025. City officials will make the final decision on the location.

If everything goes according to plan, the earliest construction will start in the spring of 2026.