Commission: Atlas Building demolition would adversely affect historic district
CHARLEROI – The planned demolition of a condemned building in downtown Charleroi would adversely affect the qualities that made the borough eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Districts, the state Historical and Museum Commission said.
The former Atlas building is a “contributing resource” to the historic district, and the Washington County Redevelopment Authority will need to consult with interested parties to seek ways to avoid or mitigate the effects on historic properties prior to demolition, the PHMC stated in a Monday letter to the authority.
“Please provide documentation of consideration of a variety of alternatives that avoid or minimize effects to the identified historic properties,” Douglas C. McLearen, chief of the state preservation office’s division of archaeology and protection, stated in the letter to the authority.
Charleroi Council on July 14 approved a $100,000 advance from the redevelopment authority in the form of a federal Community Development Block Grant to demolish the building at 138 McKean Ave. The Mon Valley Alliance, a local nonprofit economic development group, intends to purchase the site for a nominal fee.
Nathan Voytek, the authority’s community development specialist assigned to Charleroi, said the grant money can be used by the borough to demolish the building because it has been condemned.
“It’s a public hazard,” Voytek said Tuesday.
Charleroi Councilman Larry Celaschi said he’s concerned $100,000 will be not enough money to demolish the building because its interior is filled with black mold and asbestos, and lead paint also will need to be safely removed from the structure.
He said there have been many interested buyers who backed off from purchasing the building after they toured the interior.
“There is no pot of money to save it,” Voytek added.
Charleroi Area School District received the building in a donation, and in May, the school board agreed to sell it, as well as the nearby former high school football stadium, to the alliance for $1.
The district needs to receive approval from a Washington County judge before the building’s sale can be finalized, said John LaCarte, vice chairman of the alliance.
He said the alliance intends to enter the property into the new Washington County Land Bank to develop a long term reuse plan.
LaCarte said he believes the building has no historical significance.
“It’s unfortunate because the building has real safety problems,” LaCarte said Wednesday.
“The building is not salvageable,” he said.
Nikki Sheppick, chairman of Charleroi Area Historical Society, said she would like to see the Atlas building restored rather than demolished.
She said state and federal experts need to provide oversight of historical properties.
“I also believe that it is vitally important for our Charleroi citizens to realize how unique their historic homes, buildings and structures are, and in working together, preserving and restoring provides the fast track to economic prosperity,” said Sheppick, whose society is an interested party in the Atlas mitigation process.
Charleroi had 1,694 contributing resources when it was added to the National Register in 2007, and a number of them since have been demolished, said PHMC spokesman Howard Pollman.
“The loss of one building would not cause us to delist the entire district,” Pollman said.
“That should not be taken to mean that the letter should not be taken seriously, however, because over time, unchecked demolition could destroy enough of the district to make us consider delisting it, which is why the demolition of this one building is an adverse effect,” he said.