Monroeville updates convention center, prepares for summer road program
Monroeville officials are updating the Monroeville Convention Center, after purchasing it in 2024, and most of the work is being paid for with grant funding.
“We recently installed five new rooftop air conditioning units for about $485,000, and that’s the only thing we’ve paid for as far as improvements,” Councilman Dennis Biondo said. “The rest has been done through state grant funding.”
In the center’s North hall, Biondo said work crews have refurbished the concrete flooring.
“It really just makes the space look a lot nicer on the inside,” he said.
In addition, new carpet was installed in the center’s South hall.
“The old carpet was pretty ratty and old, and this really freshened it up,” Biondo said.
Convention organizers have taken notice. In advance of the recent Steel City Con, organizers specifically posted about the new carpeting.
“We’ve also added outdoor signage and installed new outdoor video boards,” Biondo said. “One is on the Oxford side when you’re coming down Monroeville Boulevard, and the other can be seen from Route 22.”
Next year, Biondo said there are plans to update indoor video boards, replace the North hall roof, update interior and exterior painting, and repave and restripe the parking lot.
Road program
Monroeville officials also announced this summer’s road program, awarding contracts totaling $1.96 million for paving, fog sealing and seal coating.
The vast majority of the cost will go toward repaving roads. Municipal manager Alex Graziani said a little under 4.5 miles of roads will be repaved. They include sections of Betty Place, Caruso Drive, Clark Street, Coffey Street, Bohinski Way, the pickleball and farmers market lots at Community Park West, Duff Drive, Franklin Heights Drive, Heather Drive, Holt Lane, Jerry Lane, Karen Court, LaSalle Drive, Lolly Drive, Mt. Pleasant Road, Point Circle Drive, Regal Court, Ridgeview Drive, Sandy Drive, Shalimar Court, Trotwood Court and Woodhaven Drive.
The contract award for seal coating also gives a preview of what roads are likely to need repaved in the coming years.
“Seal coating is the last preventative maintenance measure before a road is milled and overlaid later,” Graziani said. “It helps us save some money in the budget while still addressing road issues.”
Seal coating will take place on sections of Beechwood Avenue, Dexter Drive, Fox Hill Drive, Grandview Avenue, Hamilton Road, Hochberg Road, Illini Drive, Jefferson Street, Johnston Road, King Lear Drive, Lincoln Avenue, Logans Ferry Road, Macbeth Drive, McGinley Road, Oak Street, Orchard Street, Poplar Street, Rolling Fields Lane, Rosecrest Drive, Shumaker Drive, Speelman Lane, Starr Drive, Thelray Drive, Townsend Drive, Urban Alley and Willow Drive.
Graziani thanked staff engineer Jamie Storey and the municipality’s public works crew.
“The road crew does a lot of prep work in advance of the roads program,” he said. “The municipal pavement infrastructure report we get every year from Jamie is wonderful and it’s very informative.”
A copy of Graziani’s presentation on Monroeville’s buildings, facilities and forthcoming capital improvements is available at Monroeville.pa.us.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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