Bob Durick, who owns Uncle Joe’s Storage, stands next to a sign Tuesday that announces plans to redevelop more than 2 acres in Struthers. The parcel has been named the Mary Lou (Toto) Estates in honor of Durick’s mother.

STRUTHERS — About 15 years ago, Bob Durick started a business to honor his father, whose likeness was on the sign, but he later felt guilty that his mother’s image was not.

“In 2007, I opened Uncle Joe’s Storage on Lowellville Road in honor of my dad,” Durick, of Lowellville, remembered. “Luckily, he was alive for 10 years to enjoy this.”

Nevertheless, Durick gave his late mother much more than her face on a sign for his latest business venture. He prepared a long-vacant lot between Ridgeway and Center streets in the city’s Nebo neighborhood for building seven homes and has named it the Mary Lou (Toto) Durick Estates.

The move means the city’s first housing development will be built in 29 years, the last one having been near Deer Creek Drive and Clingan Road, Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday afternoon to announce the sale and redevelopment of the lots.

“My parents died two months apart in 2017. When I saw this property for sale, I decided, with partners, to develop this in honor of my mother,” Durick recalled, adding that she grew up on Ridgeway Street.

Durick, who has five Uncle Joe’s Storage locations — two each in Struthers and New Middletown and one in Campbell — noted that four of the homes will be on Center Street and three on Ridgeway Street. Each of them will be one floor and contain three bedrooms and two bathrooms, he said.

Durick was unable to give a cost estimate, except to say the homes likely will be in the $200,000 range. He added that Struthers Credit Union is providing financing for the project.

The development also should bolster the city’s real estate tax base and be beneficial for the school system, he continued.

“We need more housing in this area, that’s for sure,” Cercone Miller said, adding that many people were uncertain what would become of the estimated 2.7-acre parcel.

In 1917, Center Street School was built on the property, with a gym added in 1959. The school was torn down in 2003, so the acreage has sat vacant for 20 years.

“Now, we’re about to get the ball rolling,” Frank Clinton, who works for Howard Hanna Real Estate offices in Poland and New Castle, Pa., said.

Construction calls for implementing an open-floor plan and making the homes affordable, with basements being optional, he explained.

Clinton added that his company ran into a few hurdles with prospective builders, which set the project’s start date back a bit. One of those was price negotiations, he said, noting that the lots went on sale Tuesday.

One of the seven homes could be a speculative house, which is similar to a model home, said Clinton, who noted that prospective buyers also can make their own plans for their homes if they receive approval from the city.

Those who have questions about, or are interested in, the project are asked to call Clinton at 330-519-2363.