Contract awarded for Fort Pitt Brewery site demolition in Jeannette

Demolition of the old Fort Pitt Brewery in West Jeannette is imminent.

Westmoreland County officials plan to meet with the contractor Wednesday to determine a start date, said Brian Lawrence, director of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank.

The contract was awarded Tuesday by the redevelopment authority board to GEMM Demolition. The McKees Rocks firm was the lowest bidder at $335,087. The price tag was about half what officials expected.

“That’s a great thing because it means we can get more properties demolished through the (American Rescue Plan Act) program,” Lawrence said, estimating an additional 30 properties could be razed with the savings.

Preparation work in advance of the demolition has been ongoing for months since the land bank acquired the complex of crumbling, red brick buildings in a judicial sale in August 2022. The buildings have been a headache for city officials for years.

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

The demolition is expected to take about six months.

When it does start, Lawrence said, residents and businesses nearby should expect noise and vibrations, and there will be plenty of precautions taken to avoid issues.

“Nothing is going to be of a damaging sort,” he said.

After it is torn down, the property will be rehabilitated to prepare it for redevelopment.

Lawrence compared the brewery project to the 2023 demolition of the former Advance Furniture building in Greensburg, which he said was completed safely. The Fort Pitt building is similar in height to the six-story Advance Furniture building.

The West Jeannette site previously was home to Victor Brewing Co., which organized in 1907. Fort Pitt Brewing bought the property 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 was later purchased by Laurel Mould, which produced plastic food containers. The property was sold at sheriff’s sale and later purchased by Rufus Corp.