Feb 28, 2019 2 min read

MONONGAHELA – A chamber of commerce had big dreams for repurposing a large downtown building it purchased more than a year ago in the heart of downtown Monongahela.

Since then, a partnership on the project between Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce and an economic development group fell through, prompting the recent sale of the former McCrory’s five and dime store, chamber President Tony Bottino said.

“The funds aren’t there,” Bottino said Wednesday when the sale of the three-story building to a Union Township developer was announced at a news conference.

“We don’t want to bankrupt our organization,” he said.

The chamber had partnered with Mon Valley Alliance, working with its then-director, Chris Whitlatch, to relocate the chamber office to the building at 211 W. Main St. and repurpose it as a business incubator. The alliance also guaranteed the mortgage for the building, which sold for $60,000.

Whitlatch left the alliance for another job Jan. 18, not long after the chamber determined that grants he said would go toward the project hadn’t materialized.

John Easoz, acting chief executive officer and chairman of the alliance board, said his group had applied for about $750,000 worth of grants for the Monongahela project, and a decision on them was still pending.

“The finances were just not there,” Easoz said.

“We were pretty excited about helping them out,” he said. “It wasn’t for lack of effort.”

Bottino said the chamber sold the building for $100,000 to David McPherson, who has already begun to work on its renovations.

A bakery is proposing to open in the space, and there are discussions about attracting a restaurant to the building, he said.