Three years after a fire destroyed a vacant three-story building in the heart of downtown Jeannette, the now-empty lot will rise again as an amphitheater.
Construction on the project should be completed this summer, said Tay Waltenbaugh, director of Westmoreland Community Action.
“I think that’s a great attraction for the community,” he said. “The city deserves this.”
The $170,000 amphitheater will be built on a city-owned lot at the intersection of Clay Avenue and Fifth Street, across the street from a building where a microbrewery plans to open this year. Waltenbaugh said city council will have to approve the project, which will be funded by tax credits.
It is the final undertaking for Jeannette’s Neighborhood Partnership Program, which enables local companies to donate a portion of their state taxes for use in community projects through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The amphitheater will be set on the rear of the property.
Other funds are being sought for additional amenities, Waltenbaugh said. Jeannette Community Development Director Diana Reitz sees the amphitheater as a complement to the brewery and a magnet for future development.
“We’re kind of morphing into something a little bit different, creative,” she said.
Council two years ago authorized the acquisition of two properties after an April 23, 2016, fire and partial collapse left the buildings unsafe. One building housed a duck-pin bowling alley and dollar store. The other building was home to a tax preparation service, hair parlor and motorcycle club. The city paid for demolition and remediation.
The Westmoreland County Land Bank sold in December the former Gillespie Building across Clay Avenue to Sobel’s Obscure Brewing of Hempfield for $40,000, according to county records. The family-owned brewery is renovating the building and expects to have a tap room, an on-site brewery, live entertainment and weekend food trucks.
Reitz hopes the city can build upon the brewery and amphitheater, which she envisions being used for a variety of events, including bands and the arts.
“You have a lot of possibilities besides the normal,” she said.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta.
