City officials break ground on new Niles public square expected in 2026
Visitors to the Mahoning Valley will soon see a revitalized downtown Niles as two projects officially get underway.
Niles Mayor Steven Mientkiewicz, city planner Bianca Rozenblad and representatives from Eastgate Regional Council of Governments recently broke ground on the new Niles Public Square project.
It’s one of three projects funded through the city’s $3.5 million Appalachian Community Grant, announced last year by Gov. Mike DeWine.
The Niles Public Square project is located at the former site of the Robins Theatre at South Main and West State Streets, according to project partner Eastgate.
“It’s truly gonna be like a welcoming to the city. Anyone coming from the south side of the city, across the viaduct, this is what they’re gonna see when they first come through Main Street,” Rozenblad said. “They’ll have the Niles letter sign, if you’re familiar with the Cleveland sign, to take pictures at, as well as areas for food trucks.”
The project includes a stage for performances, moveable seating options and an outdoor pavilion where Rozenblad envisions small concerts and performances taking place.
“We can store the chairs and bring them out when we’re having certain events,” Rozenblad said. “That is something that I definitely had requested during the planning and design phase just because I wanted flexibility. We have a lot of civic groups in Niles, so if they want to put on anything for the community, it’s what I love about the project. It truly is a public square. There’s no limit; there’s no set programming that we have yet.”
Rozenblad said she wants the community to have a say of what events they’d want at the square.
“We were able to save some vases that were on top of the old Robins Theater and we want to incorporate them to pay homage to what was there,” she said.
Crews are also starting work on the nearby Riverside Park project, made possible by the Appalachian Community Grant Program.
“We’ll have a sidewalk and walking trails. In the walking trails, we have furniture and they’re functionality pieces,“ Rozenblad said. “Another goal of ours is to eventually be able to have kayakers come through Mahoning River and then be able to go up Mosquito Creek.”
Riverside Park will include an official kayak launch ramp and an outdoor classroom.
“Mental health based programming, connecting with nature, whether it be performance, public educational purposes, or even environmentally, environmental studies related having forestry trainings - that would all take place here with the outdoor classroom,” she said.
