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NILES -- A building that once stood tall on the back end of Niles’ State Route 422 corridor will be reduced to rubble by mid-November, and officials are excited to see it go.
Mayor Steven Mientkiewicz said Thursday that both the old Treasures Flea Market building on Route 422 was one of two buildings condemned, deemed in disrepair and in need of demolition.
“We had gotten those two entities involved with our partners at Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, TNP, to participate in the demolition money funded through the (Ohio) Department of Development, the brownsfield and demolition program,” he said. “Those private entities, with the city’s support, are funded 75% through TNP for the demolition of those properties; the individual entities have to fund 25% of the demo costs.”
Mientkiewicz said both entities checked the boxes for the program, noting that they were both inspected and approved or demolition through the city.
“At the end of the demolition, both of those properties will retain their parcels,” he said.
Mientkiewicz said the contract was about $250,000 for demolishing the old flea market building, which work began on Oct. 15, and approximately $140,000 for the Mount Carmel School building on Robbins Avenue, which crews are expected to begin tearing down Nov. 1.
The flea market building, which was built in the 1960s, housing King’s Department Store, served as a commercial hub throughout the decade and the 70s until closing in the early 1980s.
The flea market went out of business in 2020, according to Mientkiewicz, adding that it had previous problems.
“It sat vacant for a while, but even prior to that, there were safety concerns -- I know there were issues with the leaking roof,” Mientkiewicz said. “The fire department and a building inspector had walked through that building and deemed it unfit and ultimately condemned it and ordered the demolition of it.”
“The blight of that building, in its last six years being vacant, and then even prior to that, there were issues, complaints. Again, just an eyesore right on the 422 corridor, on our main corridor running into the city.”
Mientkiewicz said he sees the building’s removal as an opportunity, explaining that it meets his vision to remove and remediate blight in the city and opens up a chance for future growth.
“And we are seeing significant growth on that 422 corridor, from North Road all the up to Niles Vienna (Road),” Mientkiewicz said. “One of the kind of forgotten sections was the upper part of 422, where Ayr (Cannabis) is, where Hyundai is developing — Storage (Rentals) of America.
“A couple of restaurants just opened up where the old Alberini’s was, so we are seeing a growth in that upper corridor of 422,” he added.
Mientkiewicz said the flea market building’s removal will allow for more commercial growth in an area deemed the corridor’s bottom part.
TNP Land Bank Administrator Ashley Yuhansz said Niles officials asked the organization whether they could add the building to their demolition program in August 2025.
TNP submitted it to the state’s department of development in November 2025 and it was approved in June 2026, going out to bid a month later.
“As for our part in the project, we secure the grant funding and manage the demolitions,” Yuhansz said. “Everything from environmental surveys, to bidding the project out, and securing a contractor.”
Dan Schiavone, representing the building’s owners, said it was time for the building to come down to make room for development, although they have no immediate plans at the moment.
“We’ve got a couple local people interested, companies, and we’ve got a couple out-of-town people interested as well, but I can’t tell you what they’re going to do with them because I don’t know,” Schiavone said. “We’re not actively developing it.”
Schiavone said he’s thankful for Mientkiewicz and city Law Director Phil Zuzolo for steering him in the right direction, noting that the demolition is going to be good for the community in the long run.
“I had known for a while that it was going to be a teardown, and then when they closed the flea market,” Schiavone said. “I knew for sure then that we were going to tear it down and somebody -- if not us -- somebody was going to start from scratch.”
Councilman Todd Weddell, D-1st Ward, said he was old enough to recall King’s Department Store occupying the space.
“When my kids were little, we used to go to Handel’s for ice cream, and you’d pull in their parking lot and look at that place, and it was just a mess,” Weddell said. “I mean, broken windows, cracked windows, not necessarily broken out, cracked windows, things like that.
“I just could never understand um why that building was still standing. I’m just glad to see it’s gone, and it’s been a long time coming. It cleans up the First Ward some more, so I’m glad to see it.”