YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Plans are moving forward to create a new joint police and fire building in the City of Youngstown.

The Youngstown Board of Control approved the city to enter into two contracts with Strollo Architects, for $24,000 each, to come up with the building designs. 

“I’m just excited at the opportunity to finally put something new in our safety forces. You know, we talk about, you know, appreciating our safety forces and them deserving better and now we’re putting our money where our mouth is, we’re proving to them that we wanna invest in them and I think this is gonna be transformational for that entire neighborhood,” said Youngstown Chief of Staff Nikki Posterli. 

If everything goes as planned, the new building will be built on some land that the city owns over on Wick Avenue. It’s known to many as the “Wick Six” area. A stretch along Wick Avenue where car dealerships brought the neighborhood to life 40 years ago.

Police Chief Carl Davis feels it would be a great location for a new police department.

“Jim Tressel, I believe, has done a great job in the YSU area and the surrounding neighborhoods, and this would just be another layer to what he has already done,” Chief Davis said.

The idea of opening this location has been in the works since the closure of fire station #7 several years ago. Now, with flooding and structural issues at the police department, the city feels it would be a good joint location.

“With nearly 200 employees here at the police department, space deficiencies have become apparent and do not support the current policing trends and the needs here in the Youngstown Police Department. This building that we’re in now probably has served its purpose,” Chief Davis said.

This is just the first step. Posterli says the next step will consist of creating a planning team, and they will need community support to move forward. She says the hope from the city is to have everything done within a year and a half to two years.