Jan 23, 2018 2 min read

MONONGAHELA – Developers of a former department store in the heart of downtown Monongahela see it as a blank slate ripe for repurposing.

“The sky is the limit,” said Christopher Whitlatch of the Mon Valley Alliance, an organization that partnered with the local chamber of commerce in purchasing the former McCrory’s at 211 W. Main St.

The Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce paid $60,000 for the three-story brick building with plans to use part of it as a business incubator.

“We want something that will be beneficial to Main Street,” said Tony Bottino, chamber president.

He said there have been changing attitudes about revisiting downtowns that have created new opportunities.

“We have entered a new era,” Bottino said Tuesday, when the chamber kicked off the venture. “We want to evolve. The chamber has to play a leadership role in the community.

The alliance cosigned the chamber’s loan from Community Bank to purchase the building. Meanwhile, EQT Corp. made a $15,000 donation for the building fund, Bottino said.

“We’re excited about this space,” said Whitlatch, the alliance’s chief executive officer.

“We’re going to help them build this space,” he said.

The basement is an interesting space that opens up to the river in the back of the building, Whitlatch said.

“I think it can be many different things,” he said.

The chamber has relocated its office into the building.