Rehab of buildings fries some residents, but many are loving it
The former Pitt Hotel building in McDonald
The Central Hotel, built in the mid-1880s, was once a brothel in McDonald.
The NAPA building is the headquarters for Novelli Properties in McDonald.
Melissa Bengtson, property manager for Novelli Properties, is shown in McDonald July 27.
Old lights remain in front of each room in a building that was once a brothel in McDonald.
An old door in the Pitt Hotel in McDonald. The building, also known as the Caldwell House, was built in the mid-1880s.
McDONALD – A black building? Some considered it a black eye.
“People came to two council meetings in a row and complained,” said Patrick Powell, president of McDonald Borough Council and a longtime resident. He was referring to the structure at 134 S. McDonald St., which had been a staple in the downtown business district since 1909, but was undergoing a needed renovation.
The redo of what was once a Napa Auto Parts store included a black facade – a new face that, initially, inspired a bunch of unhappy faces.
“We got a lot of bad feedback from people in town. They said this was a historic place and were afraid we were destroying the place,” Melissa Bengtson said with a mild chuckle. She is property manager for Novelli Properties, which, she asserted, is buying and rehabbing properties in the borough, not destroying them.
Residents more recently have been noticing the work – and complaining less.
Established in 1865 when the Civil War ended, McDonald is showing pockets of age, especially downtown. Novelli Properties is providing the Botox, renovating four properties within close proximity, including the building in black – the company’s new headquarters.
Structures at 110, 125 and 134 S. McDonald, and 100 E. Lincoln also are being upgraded to include retail and commercial use and more than 50 rental units. A bed-and-breakfast and a bar/restaurant are planned for the Pitt Hotel’s first floor.
Attracting diners, merchants, shoppers, tenants and overnight guests is the objective. “People have to feel welcome here,” Bengtson said.
Matt Novelli, principal of the company, is the force behind the changes. He and investors are purchasing existing properties and upgrading them, in anticipation of the eventual completion of the Southern Beltway extension project in Cecil Township, a half-mile from McDonald. The Beltway will cross over Route 980, which also is South McDonald Street.
“I’m partial to the area because the toll road is coming through,” Novelli said.
The Panhandle Trail, where cyclists and strollers abound, is another entrepreneurial enticement. “All of our buildings will have bike racks, for residents and people on the trail,” said Bengtson, who lives near Claysville.
McDonald, in many ways, is a pleasant small town of about 2,000 people in northcentral Washington County … and a sliver of Allegheny. They reside on half of a square mile that features well-kept homes and yards, a solid business district, a low crime rate, a highly regarded library and a Giant Eagle.
Yet the borough could use a boost, and Novelli and his three employees are striving to provide one. Foremost are those four buildings they are painting, refinishing and enlivening.
Bengtson led a mini-tour, starting with the building where she works. Before being transformed into a Napa store, the structure was home to a Pittsburgh Coal Co. district office for nearly 40 years. That’s why, she added, it will be known as the Pittsburgh Coal Co. building.
Now, about that black building. Novelli said his designer chose that color because “the brick was in pretty rough shape” and the black and steel facing – combined – hid the flaws. Opinions of it may vary, but the mural on the back corner of the structure, done by a local artist and depicting elements of the borough’s past, is widely praised.
Continuing on, Bengtson strolled through the locally celebrated Pitt Hotel, which has long-term residents but no longer features a restaurant or bar at 110 S. McDonald. (The bar was operating when Novelli bought it.) Apartments will stay, but the company is converting part of the place into a bed-and-breakfast plus a restaurant/bar. The old hotel will be renamed Caldwell House.
The building on Lincoln has an interesting history. It was constructed in the 1880s and was a longtime brothel. In fact, the old lamps – which once required oil – remain in the hallways. A Chinese restaurant, China Dragon, operates on the first floor; apartments will be on the second and third. The structure has been rechristened Central Hotel.
The Will Hotel (125 S. McDonald) will be strictly apartments.
Novelli also has purchased the High View Lumber hardware store property on South McDonald, but hasn’t begun work there. “We plan to tear down part of it and build a 10,000-square-foot warehouse,” he said.
Some apartment dwellers complained when Novelli Properties increased rents, but Bengtson said they were very low. “Previous owners never raised the rent. When the properties were sold, Matt had to raise rents. You can’t live in an apartment for $300 a month anymore.”
“Some also thought we were trying to push the elderly out. That was not the case whatsoever.”
She said tenants in McDonald pay typical $475 to $650 for a one- or two-room unit.
Rehabbing properties is a longtime passion and pastime for Novelli, who is 37 but has been doing this, literally, for half his life. He started flipping houses at 18.
“I have done quite a few in McDonald and like how historic it is,” Novelli said. “There were owners and operators in McDonald who let buildings get rundown, who didn’t have the most credit-worthy tenants. That’s how I got a lot of them.”
His property investment interests extend beyond McDonald. Novelli has purchased rental properties to house oil and gas workers and is doing the same in Beaver County, where construction has begun on the Shell petrochemical cracker plant. Powell, the council president, estimated Novelli has 300 residential units overall.
Although there is work to be done, and probably further purchases to be made, Novelli Properties appears to be gaining support from the local citizenry.
“I know when he painted the one building black, people said ‘What?’ But the general consensus is that people are glad he’s doing something. I hope his idea is going to work,” said Jim Brockman, executive director of American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor Museum in Wellsburg, W.Va., and a McDonald resident.
“Some people don’t like change, especially older people,” Powell said. “Young people with innovative ideas won’t please everyone. But Matt has come up with a vision people can be attracted to. I think he’s going to put his experience to good use for himself and the people of the McDonald area. This is going to help us.”
Dave Paterra concurs. He has the keen insight of a longtime businessman, having been a State Farm insurance agent on South McDonald Street for 20 years.
“I redid the interior of my office. I’m encouraged by seeing what he’s doing,” Paterra said. “I’m very happy to see someone putting money into the town. Renovations contribute to the overall health of a town, and if you don’t do anything, you end up with a decaying community. Then drugs and crime take over.
“Is everybody happy? No. But if you don’t do anything, a community will die.”