Mar 28, 2019 2 min read

If people were standing on the ground floor of an historic, three-story downtown Monongahela building when it was raining two years ago, they would have gotten drenched.

“I don’t think it would have made it through another winter,” says Justin Myers, one of three owners of the building at Third and West Main streets.

Still, Myers and his business partners saw opportunities for the brick building dating to the late 1800s, even though its roof was severely leaking and it was filled with mold and junk.

“It was like traveling through garbage,” says Myers, who lives in Belle Vernon.

“This building was on the brink,” adds Josh Tenecha of Fayette County, another partner in the flip.

He says he tracked the owner of the building to a heating and cooling company in Georgia to inquire about purchasing the property at 254-260 West Main Street.

The owner was preparing at that time to list the property for sale. Tenecha says he asked the man to wait until he got back to him.

The property was sold to the partners for $65,000, according to Washington County records. Today, after all of the building’s infrastructure has been replaced, and with a new roof, it’s been appraised at $600,000, according to the partners, which also include Ian Hoover of Hickory.

“I did make the first move,” Tonecha says. “We all realized quickly it’s a stable town.”

All but one of the building’s 10 apartments have now been rented. The Mrs. Clean cleaning company took one of the storefronts.

If a tenant is not found for the other, the partners will operate a business there. They would like to see a cafe with white tablecloths open in the corner space.

“It’s ready for the finishing touches,” Tonecha says. “We all realized quickly it’s a stable town. We love this town.”