Erin Timms, owner of the Calvin Center for the Arts, stands outside the newly renovated space at 755 Mahoning Ave. A grand opening / open house will take place today, with building tours from 5 to 7 p.m. and a celebration with food and music in the chapel from 7 to 9 p.m.

The Mahoning Valley arts scene suffered a major blow when more than a dozen makers and collectors who rented space — some for decades — at the Ward Bakery building, 1024 Mahoning Ave., were evicted after the building was sold.

Just down the street, at 755 Mahoning Ave., the Calvin Center for the Arts gained additional importance as a place to connect the area’s creatives with those who support their endeavors. For its owner, Erin Timms, she’s working toward making the former school and recreation hall into a multi-faceted facility that connects her spiritual life, the arts scene and promoting wellness while cultivating a sense of community.

“As a karma yogi, finding my path to service definitely means being engaged in my community, doing service for the community,” she said. “I feel called to do service around health and sustainability, to engage and celebrate all that we have and overcome our obstacles.

“My practice is about selfless service and the physical, energetic actions that lead us to higher consciousness. Karma yoga is often perceived as doing the work or chores with presence of the conscious mind. Similarly, when I have been renovating or cleaning, all of my thoughts for healing are put in the building, healing not only my family issues but also the deeper generational issues that are a part of all of us, a part of the land.”

Connecting her views specifically to the center’s location, she said, “If you live in Youngstown, I feel it is your responsibility to get involved.”

Timms has done this by volunteering for neighborhood cleanups and presenting events at the Calvin Center such as a classical Indian music performance, Mahoning Valley ComiCon, retreats with Swami Dharmakirti and classes.

Since 2020, the Calvin Center has hosted the Youngstown May Day celebration, which honors workers.

“It is all about educating the masses on what various organizations are doing in and around this community,” Timms said.

She continued, “We bring in creative arts, music, crafts and ceremony to celebrate labor and Beltane — the Celtic pagan holiday that celebrates rebirth of spring and fertility. We have vendors selling plants and educating people on permaculture (a land management approach that’s good for the environment and sustainability), and memorials honoring fallen workers. It is free to all vendors and guests and is quite a magical gathering of our community.”

The Boardman High School graduate has lived in Youngstown, on and off, since she was 19, and has lived there permanently since 2016. She understands how difficult it can be to unite the area’s residents.

“The Youngstown community can be divided. We have so much jealousy and ‘not enough’ syndrome from the decades of division and feelings of a lack of prosperity,” Timms said.

Built in 1877 by P. Ross Berry — the African-American designer who constructed many major structures in Youngstown — the building was originally used as a school.

“The life of P. Ross Berry and his involvement with the construction of the building is an incredible story that is tied to a physical space,” said Timms, who has a master’s degree from Michigan Tech in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology, a bachelor of arts from Youngstown State University in art history and a certificate in historic preservation.

She did industrial archaeological work for Superfund sites for seven years in Rhode Island before returning to Ohio.

“Preserving this amazing structure and telling the story of its architect is an incredible gift. His story is not only important for local history, but also for a national level of historical significance,” Timms said.

The Hungarian Presbyterian Church purchased it from the city in 1943 in order to develop a recreation hall for Sunday school and events for its large congregation and area residents. At this point, it became known as the Calvin Center. In 1950, the additions of a hall / gymnasium and commercial kitchen took place as well as a renovation of the school, including a classroom converted into a chapel.

The area’s declining population reduced the church’s members, which affected use of the center. Following years of paying for expensive upkeep but rarely using it, the property went up for auction. Timms’ older brother, Sean, purchased the three-floor plus basement, 28,108-square-foot building in 2009.

She described him as having an “adventurous spirit” who owned several houses and a church that occasionally hosted concerts.

“I’m not sure Sean had a plan when he bought the Calvin Center. Quite a bit of his dream evolved with his tenants and his own interests. He envisioned a creative incubator of tenants and artists,” Timms said.

Unfortunately, his vision for the property was never fully realized. In November 2015, Sean Timms died in his sleep after the Calvin Center hosted a concert by national touring artists Ike Reilly.

“A week after my brother passed away, I made the decision to move back to Youngstown. It took me a little over six months to wrap up my commitments I had in Rhode Island. Honestly, I was devastated by Sean’s death. Sean was more than just my brother. He had been a friend and my biggest supporter. I had lived with him through various times of my life when I moved out of my parents’ house.

“When I was 19, he took me in. When I was ready to start college, he helped me go back to school. When I was an unemployed archaeologist, he had a place for me to stay. Part of me felt like I was being called home to heal the loss of my brother but also some of the deep generational wounds. I felt a desire to give to Sean in death what I was unable to do for him in his life,” Timms said.

The structure’s history also appeals to Timms. She views the Calvin Center as an important piece of Youngstown’s past as well as a vital part of its present and future.

“The desire to preserve something in Youngstown, and not to let another building get torn down or destroyed through years of neglect was important to Sean and me,” she said.

For two years, she maintained the building along with her parents before purchasing the center from Sean’s estate in 2018. Since then, Timms has slowly, purposefully transformed the building. There have been nonstop renovations since then, including removing paneling and modifications from the 1950s, restoring original woodwork, painting and refinishing floors, updating the commercial kitchen and adapting to modern-day regulations.

After working with a New York architect on the permitting process, the center recently passed all of its safety codes for residential and mixed-use spaces.

The makeover resulted in six Airbnb / short to mid-term residential studios, two long-term residential apartments along with three mixed-use assembly spaces for events, kitchen and spaces in the hall / gymnasium for artists and creatives.

Current tenants include the Youngstown Area Roller Derby and two commercial art studios.

A grand opening / open house will take place today, with building tours from 5 to 7 p.m. and a celebration with food and music by the Shoe Shine Boys in the chapel from 7 to 9 p.m.

Overall, Timms aims to accomplish extensive plans.

“While I like the idea of an Airbnb and short-term rentals, my vision for the facility is as an urban retreat center that is similar to ashrams in India. The space would serve not only travelers, but also the community. I don’t believe it would be a typical ashram but would be open to many people that might not ever step into a typical yoga class. The integrative community center will offer a variety of programs and classes and is open to hosting different events that help foster and build community,” Timms said.

“The building was as much about my healing — the loss of my brother — as it was taking on his dream. When I was in Rhode Island figuring out how I was going to move home and what the next steps would be, I drew a vision board of the Calvin Center as a health and wellness center that focused on healing generational trauma. I put it out there into the universe and continued pursuing Sean’s dream.”