Fredericktown eyesore demolished
FREDERICKTOWN – For more than a decade, a rundown, vacant service station served as the gateway to the otherwise quaint village of Fredericktown.
That all changed in November when a contractor demolished the former Ashland garage in preparation for the development of a new park focusing on access to the Monongahela River.
“It was a No. 1 eyesore as soon as you come into town,” said Dennis Slagle, president of Fredericktown Area Chamber of Commerce.
The property along Route 88 south had been sold a number of times while carrying both state and federal liens before the township purchased it at a tax sale for $100. Using the state’s blight laws, East Bethlehem Township received a Washington County Court order in 2014 placing the property under its conservatorship in order to tear down the building, township secretary Maryann Kubacki said.
The Mon River Town program then used a $20,000 grant from the Benedum Foundation to develop a draft plan for the site and hire Design Center Pittsburgh to create renderings for what the new Fredericktown Gateway would look like, said Cathy McCollom, program director.
“It was a high priority for the community,” McCollom said.
She said the abandoned service station and convenience store did not give the town a good first impression.
“This will be a much more improved gateway,” she said.
A rendering shows a pergola among landscaping on the site, while another indicates plans for murals to be created for the nearby Route 88 bridge over Ferry Street to the river.
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
A rendering of designs for murals at the gateway to Fredericktown at Ferry Street and Route 88
The township received a $59,000 grant last year from the local share of the pot at The Meadows Casino in North Strabane Township, a portion of which paid for the demolition.
The township on Monday will apply for a $130,475 LSA grant to pave Ferry Street to the river, install drainage and landscaping at the property and construct a sidewalk. The River Towns program has pledged $5,000 toward the project, and the township will add more funds to the effort.
The goal is to pull boaters from the river into the town to frequent restaurants and other businesses.
“We’re becoming a seasonal town,” Kubacki said.
Slagle said the township is limited in what it can do with the property because it is situated in a flood-prone area.
“It looks a lot better already,” Slagle said.
He said the river ramp at Ferry Street is the only public access to the water in the area.
“It’s used by a lot of local people to launch a boat,” he said.