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Former Avella bank avoids condemnation - for now
Staff writer
AVELLA - Independence Township supervisors want to move forward with plans to condemn and raze the historic Lincoln National Bank building, but that isn't deterring a community group trying to buy and renovate the building that has sat vacant since the Great Depression.
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The association learned earlier Wednesday that it has received tentative approval for $50,000 in local slots funding and could use part of that money to purchase the building. The grant is still subject to approval by the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
Meanwhile, supervisors are proceeding with a lawsuit against the family that owns the property to condemn it.
Township solicitor Bob Clarke met recently with an association representative and an attorney for the owners, the Ciaffoni family. Clarke received documents about the renovation plans and learned the association needs at least two more months to close on the sales agreement it previously negotiated with the Ciaffonis.
In response Wednesday night, the supervisors ordered Clarke to write a settlement stipulation that the township would agree to withdraw the condemnation lawsuit without prejudice. The supervisors plan to vote on the measure next month.
If the sale does not go through and the building remains with the Ciaffonis, then the township must begin the condemnation process from scratch. But if the association buys the 85-year-old building and allows it to languish without improvements, the stipulation would permit the township to reactivate the lawsuit from its current point.
"I'm not starting over again," Chairman Mark Kinney said of the condemnation process. "That's the only way I'll do it."
Clarke said Wednesday he thinks the association will have no trouble financing reconstruction, but Supervisor Jim Wright wanted a more concrete timeline for renovations.
Dale Tudor, a member of the association, asked if the supervisors ever would be satisfied with the efforts to renovate the building.
"Even if there is a good-faith effort for us to restore this building, I get the indication that at the first opportunity you'll come and condemn the building," Tudor said. "Is there that much animosity?"
Wright indicated there, indeed, is too great of a divide between the sides, but Supervisor Melinda Latynski downplayed that idea.
"If you buy it and do what you're supposed to do, there's nothing we can do," Latynski said. "But if you're not, then we're here."
Despite the perceived lack of support from the supervisors, Tom Jennings, president of the association, said he is trying to find common ground between both sides.
"It's still a time for trust to be developed," Jennings said.
Engineers have said the building is structurally stable, and total reconstruction costs are estimated at about $800,000, Jennings said. The association wants to place several stores and a historical center in the building when the renovations are complete.
