Jeannette considering creating historic district on Clay Avenue

Jeannette wants to create a downtown historic district to preserve the look of buildings and open up funding opportunities. Council could vote next week on an ordinance defining the district and its requirements.

“It gives us the ability to research for grants that might apply for that area,” city clerk Michelle Langdon said.

The proposed ordinance indicates the district would exist on Clay Avenue between Second and Eighth streets. Many buildings in that area have brick facades and architectural features such as cornices and friezes two stories above street level. Lunettes and lintels decorate second-floor windows, and some of the buildings have names and dates engraved at their tops, such as Glass City Bank and A.A. Mascantonio 1931.

Jeannette was the site of a 2013 architectural design contest among local high school students who toured Clay Avenue through the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.

Creating a local historic district is the first step to forming meaningful policy aimed at preservation as a means of planning and examining how an area could grow, said Karamagi Rujumba, PHLF director of development and communication.

A district could help retain property values and the policies don’t prohibit demolition or changes, but they must be approved, he said.

“The places that have been protected as historic districts are the places that have retained most of their architectural aesthetics,” Rujumba said.

Council’s potential vote Jan. 10 would come about a month after the announcement that a building with some of those historic features is being sold to a local brewery. The former Gillespie Building at Clay Avenue and South Fifth Street will be the new home of Sobel’s Obscure Brewery.

“We’re thinking that’s going to be the spark that ignites all of Clay Avenue,” Langdon said.

Grant funding opportunities could include facade and commercial building improvements, she said. The proposed rules also would govern how sidewalks look in the district as well as require utilities be placed behind or within buildings.

Violations could carry penalties between $300 and $1,000 for each day.

“The goal is to foster economic development and preserve the historical assets that are along Clay Avenue,” 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.