Demolition work at the former Fort Pitt Brewery site in West Jeannette is expected to wrap up in the next few months as officials prepare for an environmental assessment later this year.

The decrepit buildings are gone, but remaining work includes cleaning up and spreading dirt, said Brian Lawrence, director of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank.

The next phase has gotten a boost through a $1.2 million federal Environmental Protection Agency grant designated for assessing brownfield sites.

“We’re really glad that we received that funding,” Lawrence said.

Demolition started last July as heavy machinery dismantled steel support beams and tossed aside cinder blocks. In December, the eight-story brick tower was torn down.

The complex was acquired by the Westmoreland County Land Bank for $1,876 in a judicial sale three years ago. The buildings had been a headache for city officials for many years prior, previously being targets for vandals and other troublemakers.

Razing the buildings has lasted longer than expected after crews from GEMM Demolition encountered multiple slabs of concrete that slowed operations, Lawrence said.

“With sites like this, you find things that you never would’ve known unless you start digging,” he said.

Costs from the additional work have increased the price tag to $398,000. When officials approved the original $335,000 bid last year they said it was about half as much as they had anticipated.

The project is being paid for through a $10.4 million pot of federal American Rescue Plan funding set aside by Westmoreland County for blight remediation in seven communities, including Jeannette.

Mayor Curtis Antoniak said he’s thankful for the collaboration with the county to get the project done.

“I think it looks very nice compared to what it was, 1,000 times better,” he said. “It’s going to do so much to that area.”

Nothing has been decided about the property’s future.

The environmental assessment will determine what type of development is possible. Lawrence said the EPA grant, which will be used to assess multiple sites in the county, allows for the creation of a revitalization plan, infrastructure design and a market analysis.

“That is going to be really useful to help us design the site with potential users in mind,” he said.

The property was at one time home to Victor Brewing Co., which organized in 1907. Fort Pitt Brewing bought the land in 1941, according to news accounts. In the mid-1950s, Papercraft Corp. expanded its gift wrap manufacturing operations there before the plant went dormant in the mid-1970s.

It later was purchased by Laurel Mould, which produced plastic food containers. The property was sold at sheriff’s sale and later purchased by Rufus Corp.

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