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Jan 01, 2024

Retail, light industrial development is announced for Mingo Junction

May 20, 2023 PROJECT PLANNED — Officials with Ewusiak Development and Mingo

May 20, 2023

PROJECT PLANNED — Officials with Ewusiak Development and Mingo Junction were on hand for Friday's ceremonial ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking at the site where the Village Business Center will be constructed. -- Ross Gallabrese

MINGO JUNCTION — Ohio sate Sen. Frank Hoagland says he is excited about the direction things are headed in across the region.

"I’m ecstatic about what's going on here," the Republican lawmaker from Mingo Junction said. "I’m calling this the ‘New Mingo Junction.'"

Hoagland was speaking during Friday's announcement of a project that will bring retail and light industrial space to the southern end of the village.

Located just off the Commerical Avenue exit to state Route 7, the Village Business Center will feature a fueling station and a restaurant and will be a home for other small businesses. And that, according to Scott Ewusiak of Follansbee-based Ewusiak Development, will be good for the area.

"This will be more than a straight gasoline station," Ewusiak said.

"We’re going to be doing alternative fuels as well — there will be hydrogen, natural gas and charging stations for trucks and cars," he said. "We’ll be ahead of the game for the valley."

Ewusiak and village and other area officials gathered for the ceremonial ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking on the property that he explained his company has owned for about 20 years.

Work on the $15 million project could begin as early as July, he added, with the first businesses expected to open in the first or second quarter of 2024.

It's a site that covers about 15 acres, Ewusiak said.

All of the retail businesses will be in the front of the development, with light industry in the back. Cedar One Realty is serving as the leasing agent, he said, adding several businesses already have expressed interest in the development.

The location is important — it sits just south of the entrance to the JSW Steel plant, which is generating a growing amount of truck and other traffic.

That is expected to continue to increase. Earlier this month, state and local officials announced that the steelmaker is planning an expansion project at the facility that will bring with it as many as 26 new jobs.

JSW said its investment will be at least $119.4 million and likely will grow to as much as $145 million.

"With all of the truck traffic coming from the mill and the trucks hauling sand for fracking — you tie all of that together, and I think it's going to be a good site," Ewusiak explained.

Village officials said the development is good for the community.

"It means a lot," Mayor Ed Fithen said. "We’ve been trying to get somebody to come onto this property. This is a big boost, a start in the right direction."

It's another sign of progress being made in the village.

"This is fantastic," said Village Administrator Bob Smith. "Anytime you bring a business in, it is positive.

"This administration has done a lot for our town," Smith added. "We’re very proud of what we have accomplished. We have a sewage treatment plant that is almost new, and we were able to get the storm sewer separation project done. You won't find many small villages that have been able to get all of that accomplished."

Hoagland said it was good to see developers finding new uses for property where old businesses had been located.

"I think that what Scotty's doing, leaning forward, trying to help create businesses in this area, is so important that it's unbelievable," he said, mentioning several sites that continue to be unused. "In order for us to rejuvenate this area, we’re going to have to have people leaning forward."

Which is what Ewusiak is trying to do.

"It is a site that was kind of wasted," he said. "We repurposed it and cleaned it up. The key is the location. We have all of the traffic on state Route 7. With Mingo Junction being revitalized, the timing is going to be perfect."

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