Stollar takes her real estate savvy to MVA
Mary Stollar, who has joined the Mon Valley Alliance as director of real estate and development, is flanked by Jamie Colecchi, left, and Ben Brown.
Jamie Colecchi
Mary Stollar
For 17 years, economic development was Mary Stollar’s specialty with the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.
“Most of my time there, I was helping companies find a place to move into or to expand into,” she said. “The chamber didn’t own any real estate and it had no vested interest in where a company was located in the county.”
Her duties also extended to providing access to state-related incentive programs, and business outreach and financing programs throughout the county.
Stollar, to be sure, arrived at the chamber a financially savvy professional. She had an extensive banking background – 30 years as a manager with two Western Pennsylvania banks. So she knows finances.
Mon Valley Alliance is now drawing on her four-plus decades of expertise.
Stollar, who had cut back to part time at the chamber in 2019, joined the MVA three weeks ago as director of real estate and economic development. The alliance announced her hiring April 19, along with the promotion of Jamie Colecchi to CEO.
Colecchi succeeded Ben Brown, an East Washington resident who resigned before assuming the newly created position of director of client experience and innovation for Community Bank.
“I’m really excited to get back into the game,” said Stollar, a Washington County native. “(MVA) for the past two years has been amazing.
“I spent 30 years in banking, so it’s nice to be with a company that is growing and seeing potential financing options available.”
Stollar is comfortable with the transition to MVA, just as Colecchi is pleased to have her on board. They had worked together previously, when Colecchi worked for the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission. “It was great to reconnect with her again,” Colecchi said.
She said they had a morning-long meeting soon after she arrived, “on all the initiatives” in which the alliance was involved. “We feel that a lot of what I did at the chamber fit into my role here.”
Her role will include further development of Alta Vista Business Park. Work at the park, adjacent to Interstate 70 in Fallowfield Township, accelerated in recent years under Brown’s auspices. A mere three lots in the 256-acre tract are still available for development.
“Everything else has been claimed. Dirt is being moved for new buildings,” said Colecchi, who had been director of operations and development at MVA. “Ben definitely got things on the right course last three years with his energy and momentum. We want to keep the momentum going and see where it takes us.”
Alta Vista, to be sure, is not the only endeavor the alliance is pursuing in the Valley. “The organization is looking at labor-remediation projects in downtown areas,” said Colecchi, who has been a linchpin in development and management of the Mid-Mon Valley Regional Enterprise Zone.
One of those projects led to the demolition of two shuttered, adjacent businesses in Charleroi: the former Atlas Merchandising Co. warehouse and Bill’s Feed Store. Ground will be broken for a 6,000-square-foot office building at Second Street and McKean Avenue.
“The alliance will target medical offices primarily,” Stollar said. “We had an economic viability study done and medical was tops.”
Another project is, literally, close to home for MVA. Mon Valley Business Resource Center – a hub for development of new businesses, training and incubation – has launched inside a former Community Bank branch in Monongahela. MVA and its foundation also operate there.
The alliance is one of many entities with which the Washington County chamber works. Chamber President Jeff Kotula fully endorses the two high-level personnel moves MVA made recently.
He said in a statement: “The Mon Valley Alliance could not have made better selections than Jamie and Mary. Jamie is well regarded for his financing knowledge, and Mary is firmly established in the region’s real estate community.
“We are looking forward to working with them on the growth of the Mon Valley.”
The Valley certainly has grown on Colecchi; he is a lifelong resident. Stollar, on the contrary, has never lived there. Yet she is quite familiar with the turf, and comfortable with it.
“I’ve spent a lot of my working career here.” she said from her office on Tuesday. “When I worked for Mellon Bank, I supported branches in Charleroi, Donora and Monessen. My work with the chamber brought me here as well.”
Stollar is, indeed, back in the game – a familiar game.