Sharon awarded grant to tear down Huntington building
Mar. 21—SHARON — The city of Sharon has been awarded a $345,000 grant that will go toward demolishing the former Huntington Bank building and riverfront development.
The grant is from the state's Local Share Account Program funded through the Pennsylvania Horse Development and Gaming Act. The fund uses gambling revenue for public interest projects.
"This funding will continue to move the riverfront redevelopment forward," City Manager Bob Fiscus said.
The razing of the former bank building, which began in February, is expected to be completed by June. Crews are in the middle of leveling the building, and the city plans to build a park next to the Shenango River in the heart of downtown.
The tower, at 1 E. State St. downtown, opened around 1967 as the home office of First Federal Savings and Loan Association which, through a series of mergers, was absorbed in Huntington. The bank had occupied the ground floor, and the upper four floors, each about 5,000 square feet, had been leased for offices.
The city bought the building last year for $350,000 from Huntington, which had closed its Sharon office in January 2021. The construction company in charge of demolition is Sereday's of Masury, Ohio.
Fiscus said tearing down the building could lead to additional development of the land behind the now-closed bank, land that is owned by the Winner Corp. and Primary Health Network. He said the city would eliminate a block of Penn Avenue parallel to the Shenango River between the building and Shenango Avenue, and put the rest of the property up for commercial development.
Earlier this month, the city announced that it had applied for a $25 million federal grant to continue the revitalization of downtown.
The $25 million would be funded through the local Regional Assistance Program and the Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.5 billion funding package passed last year.
The city will learn in June about its application. If Sharon receives the grant, it would have to contribute a match of $3.9 million.
Fiscus said the city could look for the funding possibly in the form of borrowing through a bond issue.
"I think that we know how important the grant could be and it would be a true transformation over the city," Fiscus said.
The awarding of the Share grant last week for $345,000 was announced by of office of state Sen. Michele Brooks of Jamestown, R-50.
"The grants Rep. (Parke) Wentling and I worked to secure will promote business and tourism growth, not only for Sharon but all of Mercer County," Brooks said. "It's great to see investments coming back to the district that will make it an even better place to live and work."
Wentling, who represents the 7th House district, agreed.
"This funding creates a pathway for revitalizing Sharon to draw in visitors and invest in our businesses," Wentling said.
Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com
