Judge mulls sale of Atlas, stadium
An expert witness said Wednesday the former football stadium and Atlas building in downtown Charleroi “had a negative value” of $107,000 when he included demolition costs in his review of the properties.
Anthony Barna, a real estate appraiser and consultant, was among those who testified during a nearly two-hour hearing before Washngton County Judge Damon Faldowski concerning the proposed sale of the buildings, owned by Charleroi Area School District, to the nonprofit Mon Valley Alliance for $1.
The deal requires a judge to agree the sale is fair and reasonable. Faldowski concluded the hearing without rendering a decision.
Attorney Todd Pappasergi argued the district’s petition for the sale “is certainly well-supported by the presentation today.”
During Barna’s testimony, Pappasergi asked whether the appraiser thought a price of more than $1 was possible in a public sale.
“It’s my opinion that it would not be attainable,” Barna said.
Under the agreement, the alliance would take on liability for the properties and be responsible for insuring them.
The $114,852 demolition of the Atlas building, 138 McKean Ave., is underway. Federal development funds are paying for the work.
The Washington County Local Share Account panel – which oversees distribution of the county’s portion of state gaming revenue – recommended in December that $252,000 in LSA funds go toward demolishing the stadium, 200 Second Ave., and preparing the site for a riverfront park.
“These types of projects have been shown to attract residents” to an area, alliance CEO Christopher Whitlatch said from the stand.
Among the roughly 15 people who attended were three who objected to the proposed sale.
Pointing to a $100,000 offer for the buildings a private company made last year, Charleroi resident Larry Hopkins – who appeared as a citizen rather than in his role as district judge – said the sale would mean the “only winner is the Mon Valley Alliance” and the district could have used those funds for education. “The real losers of this is the children,” he asserted.
Wendell H. Stone Co. offered in April 2016 to buy the 80-year-old former stadium at for $125,000 as long as the property would continue to be zoned heavy industrial, according to minutes from a school board meeting that month. Told the district was selling the facility as a package with the Atlas building, the company lowered its proposal by $25,000.
The following month, the borough amended its zoning ordinance to designate the property part of a “redevelopment district,” Councilman Larry Celaschi testified.
Pappasergi pointed out during his closing argument the Stone offer was verbal and contingent on the zoning designation, and the company hadn’t made a subsequent offer.
“There’s been nothing to that effect,” he said.
Barna said he visited the properties in question in December and found the stadium, which was closed in 2010, in deteriorating condition.
The Atlas building was in even worse shape, with a roof that was collapsing.
“Given the condition of the Atlas building, there are very few users who could buy it and renovate it,” he said.