Irwin appliance store staying in town

Rosendahl’s Appliance Center, a fixture in downtown Irwin for decades, is staying in town.

Rosendahl’s will not have to move far at the end of the month when its lease expires for the space on the first floor of the Irwin Borough Building at 424 Main St.

That’s because it’s going across Main Street to what had been Candy’s Corner Cafe, at the corner of Main and Fifth streets.

Gary Proctor, owner of Rosendahl’s, purchased the building at 435 Main St. in late February for $225,000 through his Proctor Properties LLC, from John W. and Diane Stewart.

By purchasing the property, Proctor said he will not have to worry about a landlord terminating the lease for his business.

The former restaurant has been vacant for several months. Proctor is in the process of remodeling the building for his appliance store.

Rosendahl’s had been located at the borough building since the 1960s, according to Justin Rosendahl, the great-grandson of the founder. Rosendahl’s has been in business in Irwin since 1883.

Irwin Council had voted in mid-December to terminate Rosendahl’s lease as of March 31, so that the borough could move its administrative offices and the police department from the second floor to the street level where they would be accessible for people with disabilities.

Proctor had been upset with the borough about not learning until December that his lease would not be renewed. He said borough officials did not give him an answer, despite asking for months about it.

Council President Rick Burdelski said Proctor was made aware for some time that borough wanted to move its offices to the first floor to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The second-floor offices are more than 20 steps above street level.

In preparation for the borough to move its administrative offices and police department to the first floor, council on March 12 approved a change order from Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. of Monroeville, to complete the needed testing for asbestos and lead paint.

The testing has to be done before the borough can do any work in remodeling the space into offices, Burdelski said. The borough intends to vacate its second floor offices.

Borough officials were told last month by Civil & Environmental Consultants, which is designing the project, that the project may be advertised for bids this spring, with work to begin this summer.