Demo plan postponed for historic Monessen building
MONESSEN – The mayor of Monessen delayed action Monday on a demolition plan for a historic downtown building until a revitalization proposal is revealed for the area in about two weeks.
Mayor Lou Mavrakis said a group has been meeting to discuss the revitalization plan for Donner Avenue, between Fifth and Sixth Streets, after several buildings are demolished, including the former Monessen Savings & Trust Building constructed about 1905.
“The building will be demolished,” Mavrakis said after a Monday council meeting.
Local resident Matt Shorraw has been seeking to purchase the trust building from the city and the support of preservationists to save it from the wrecking ball.
Preservation Pennsylvania placed the ornate three-story brick and stone building on its list of the 11 most-threatened buildings in the state.
The Beau Arts-style building last served as a Health Mart Discount Center, and it has been vacant since the 1980s.
Shorraw, 26, previously said he has a $3.5 million plan to repurpose the building as a cafe and music center. He also is running against Mavrakis in the spring primary.
When asked Monday about the demolition plan, Shorraw said: “We’ll see.”
“There are more important issues in Monessen,” he said.
Mavrakis declined to identify the members of the group he said is working on a redevelopment plan for the Donner Avenue corridor.
He said Monessen Revitalization Corp. owns many of the buildings in the area.
The motion he delayed Monday called for the city’s engineering firm to prepare the demolition specifications for 500 Donner Ave. and also advertise for bids from contractors who are interesting in razing the old bank building.
In other business Monday, council moved its meetings from the third and fourth Mondays of each month to the third and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m. in the Monessen Municipal Complex.
Meanwhile, Councilman Ed Lea said he will present plans in April for a dog park in Monessen City Park.
Council also contracted with MeterFeeder of Braddock to provide motorists the ability to use their smartphones to pay for parking their vehicles at metered spaces.