Mon Valley Hospital to buy Rostraver Township building
ROSTRAVER TWP. — The Monongahela Valley Hospital, which has leased the majority of the Healthplex building at Willow Pointe, is in the process of purchasing the facility.
“There is an agreement to purchase the building. The sales agreement was just signed last week,” said hospital spokeswoman Corinne Laboon. “We lease 70 percent of the building, and there are tenants in the remaining 30 percent. We are honoring all of the leases and as the leases are up, they are up for negotiation, and it is up to the tenants to renew their leases.”
One tenant which has stated publicly that it will close at the end of this year is the Willow Room, a popular banquet venue in the region. The venue, operated by Willow Pointe Partners LLC, made the announcement in a Facebook post late last week.
“Looking back on what we have built, it is with a heavy heart that we announce the pending closure of The Willow Room on January 1, 2017. The building in which The Willow Room rents and operates is in the process of being sold, and while we regret not being able to host our 2017 reservations, the new owner will be converting the space for another important community-related use,” an open letter on the Facebook page states.
Laboon did not disclose any plans the hospital may have for the space, if any.
Willow Pointe Partners and General Industries, the firm selling the Healthplex building, both have corporate headquarters at 15 Arentzen Blvd., Charleroi. Current listings with the Pennsylvania Corporations Bureau no longer list corporate officers. General Industries closed in May.
It was previously known as General Mechanical Contractors and was formed in 1973 by Monessen native Donald C. Ivill, father of the current owner, Donald J. Ivill. The name was changed to General Industries in 1981.
Donald J. Ivill took over leadership of the company when his father died in 1993.
General Industries is a commercial construction firm handling construction, leasing, excavation, pre-engineered buildings, design/build services and general contracting.
The Greater Rostraver Area Chamber of Commerce hosts its monthly meetings at The Willow Room. The chamber’s executive director Gina Lynn, said she isn’t making any plans at the moment.
“We have events on the schedule through 2016, which are moving ahead. I’m in a holding pattern, waiting to see what the new owner’s going to do,” Lynn said. “Our next major event is in April 2017, our annual recognition banquet.”
Lynn said The Willow Room has been a great partner with the chamber over the past 12 years, and she is sorry to see it close.
“It may boost some of our other wedding venues such as fire halls, St. Spyridon Hall, even Linden Hall,” Lynn said.
Meanwhile, numerous hospital-related facilities at the Healthplex will remain open as the sale progresses. Laboon said those businesses include cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, occupational medicine, Healthplex Imaging, Valley Outpatient Rehabilitation, Value Health, primary care, orthopedic care, neurosurgery and women’s health services offices, and the Center for Fitness and Health.
“It’s an excellent opportunity for our health system and will anchor our hospital for years to come,” Laboon said.