Redevelopment of 2 lots on Greensburg’s Pennsylvania Avenue underway after Land Bank sale

Redevelopment of the former Art Tech building in downtown Greensburg is moving forward now that owner City Cribs 2 LLC has purchased an adjoining lot where the dilapidated Derby’s Delicatessen building was razed.

Crews from Alpen Homes last week installed wooden trusses made by Punxsutawney-based Hillside Trusses for a new pitched roof that will replace the flat rubber roof on the Art Tech building on South Pennsylvania Avenue.

The building is expected to house an eatery and a second location for Hempfield-based RSVP Gifts and More, while a related mini-amphitheater is planned in the neighboring lot on the north side of the Art Tech building.

“The new roof will show everybody that we’re moving forward,” said Suzanne Ward, a partner with her husband, Michael, in City Cribs 2, an offshoot of the City Cribs development firm. The Wards also are owners of RSVP Gifts and More.

Suzanne Ward said the roof, which will be constructed with metal, could be completed as early as this week.

She said construction of the mini-amphitheater and an indoor/outdoor patio that will link it to the eatery at ground level will depend on work being completed by a structural engineer and architect.

“We’re hoping to get drawings finished by the end of August,” Ward said. “Once we complete permitting, we’re hoping by mid-September to early October to get on with construction.”

She said she would like to have the outer shell of structural work on the former Derby’s property completed in October so that interior work on the properties can occur over the winter.

While specifics aren’t yet available, Ward said the eatery destined for the Art Tech building is a start-up whose menu items “will be unique and different from what is already being offered in Greensburg. It will be a nice complement to the other restaurants in the area.”

Ward said the amphitheater is envisioned as having two tiers, making use of the property’s sloped contour. The top tier would be a performance space while the lower tier would be a flexible space.

She expects the management of the eatery will be in charge of programming on the amphitheater property. She said the property could support a variety of activities, possibly including yoga classes.

The Derby’s property most recently was owned by the Westmoreland County Land Bank, which this month sold it to City Cribs 2 for $30,000 after reviewing the developer’s amphitheater concept. City Cribs 2 submitted the sole response to the land bank’s request for proposals.

“We offered a broad expectation of what we thought needed to happen at the site,” said Brian Lawrence, land bank executive director. “There’s quite a bit of a grade change from Pennsylvania Avenue to the alley. You can’t really do much with a grade change like that.”

After some negotiations, he said, “We entered into a sales agreement, and they closed very quickly on the property.”

City Cribs 2’s deed for the property initially will be held in escrow until the land bank’s expectations for development of the site are met. That includes a goal of having work completed in nine months, though Lawrence noted construction delays wouldn’t be unusual.

“As long as someone is working with us and communicating in writing, and we’re approving those delays, everybody is pretty much happy,” he said.

City Cribs 2 also owns a parklet on the south side of the Art Tech building, where the Wards have sponsored a wall mural created by North Huntingdon artist Cody Sabol.

City Cribs 2 is organizing and is among sponsors of decorative white LED lighting that is set to be strung in a zig-zag pattern above a section of Pennsylvania Avenue, beginning at the Pitt-Penn retail building.

“I’m excited to see it,” Suzanne Ward said of the lighting. “I think it will draw attention to that area and the businesses there. I think it will help bring new people into the area to see what we have to offer.”

Other sponsors of the lighting include Amp Pro Electric, RSVP Gifts and More, the Downtown Greensburg Project and the Greensburg Night Market, which is held regularly along several blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue.