Eastgate 11 sale approved by court
GREENSBURG — A Westmoreland County judge has cleared the way for the city of Monessen to sell the Eastgate 11 building to a Pittsburgh developer.
The building, which most recently housed Castle Blood, had been put up for bid in 2015, with no one making an offer on the property. One offer had been received with a combined price for Eastgate 11 and the municipal building, but that bidder had said they would give Eastgate 11 back to the city if that sale had gone through, explained Krisha DiMascio, the city solicitor.
Those failed bids opened the door for the city to consider private negotiations for the property. DiMascio said David Lamb of On Site Rep has offered the city $80,000 for Eastgate 11, putting down $30,000 until the closing.
DiMascio told Judge Tony Marsili that the sale would put the property on the tax rolls, generating additional money for both the city and the Monessen School District. DiMascio said the property had never before been taxable.
“They will probably tax it at the sale price,” DiMascio said following the hearing.
The property was appraised at $83,000.
Monessen Mayor Lou Mavrakis testified the city had looked into the possibility of moving the municipal offices to Eastgate 11, but learned it would cost at least $700,000 to renovate the building because it would need an elevator to make it handicapped accessible.
“We are in early intervention,” Mavrakis said, referring to a program to keep the city from being declared distressed.
DiMascio said the city had been losing money on the building in the past because of an extremely low multi-year lease that was offered to the previous tenant that included the city paying the utilities. The electric bill just for October 2013 came to $1,600, DiMascio said. He also said the building sustained about $100,000 in damages.
Mavrakis said city council reviewed Lamb’s proposal before accepting his bid.
“We don’t just want to give the building to someone and have it sit to become another blighted property,” Mavrakis said.
Lamb said he would be renovating the building for use as a community rental hall.
“I plan on going into development, making it a community room, an event center, so people throughout the Mon Valley could enjoy it,” Lamb testified.
The hearing had been advertised both in a general circulation newspaper and the Westmoreland County Law Journal for objections or counter offers to be presented, but no one came forth.
Marsili gave approval to the sale, with a closing set for 10 a.m. Monday.