Monsour update
Site preparation work at the former Monsour Medical Center along Route 30 in Jeannette is on track to be completed by the end of March.
After that, it will be ready for market, according to Jason Rigone, director of the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp., which is acting as project manager.
The county's land bank purchased the parcel for $15,172 at a 2014 tax sale after it closed in 2006 following a series of failed health inspections.
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Updated 26 minutes ago
Demolition and remediation work at the former Jeannette Glass site could begin in the next several months.
An environmental review of the blighted 13-acre property is completed and the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. is awaiting a response on its cleanup plan from the state Department of Environmental Protection, according to corporation director Jason Rigone. Officials estimate it will cost about $6 million to ready the parcel for future development.
“We've owned the site since sometime in 2016, and nothing has really visually happened on site,” Rigone told Jeannette council this week. “That doesn't mean that work's not being done. We have to go through the environmental review process.”
The county agency bought the former plant in 2012 for $305,000 at a tax sale. But years of court challenges over the validity of the sale from the previous owner — late New York businessman Abraham Zion — stymied its plans to clean up and redevelop the deteriorated site that is littered with remnants of glass production. After the state Supreme Court upheld the sale, both parties reached a settlement in mid-2016 that permitted Zion Bullitt Avenue LP officials to remove personal property from the site until Sept. 1.
Zion, who died in April, purchased the factory in 1983 for $4 million and promised to resurrect it. Instead, it sat dormant.
The site's redevelopment is “pivotal to the revitalization to the downtown area,” Mayor Richard Jacobelli said.
“The de-industrialization of our community has affected many lives,” he said. “…We are seeing a great deal of progress within the borders of our community. We must not turn the clock back and make every effort to encourage future partnerships.”
The project is in the second phase, which includes demolition of rusted structures and other above-ground work, Rigone said. Much of the material left on the site is contaminated with asbestos.
KU Resources Inc. of Duquesne conducted the review under a $233,500 contract and formulated the plan, which Rigone said he hopes will be finalized in the next 60 days. Once that happens, officials can seek bids for the work.
“We want to make sure that we do it right,” Rigone said.
Future phases include removing building foundation and footers, excavation, compacting soil, planting grass, extending utilities and building a road.
Some funding has been secured, including a $1 million loan from the county. Other money is being sought through the county, state and federal governments.
“We're starting to build that funding package,” Rigone said. “We still have a ways to go.”
Jeannette solicitor Scott Avolio is glad to see some visual progress on the horizon after years of battling Zion and his company in court. It's important to look ahead at the possibilities for the site's reuse instead of reminiscing about what Jeannette Glass once was, he said.
“That's a big opportunity for the city of Jeannette and a big accomplishment to even get it this far,” he said.
City and county officials lauded the partnership that has helped push what seemed to be an insurmountable project through a drawn-out court system and finally into the county's hands.
“It's a lot easier to deal with these projects when you have strong support from the local municipality,” Rigone said.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.
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