Leaders cite memories of vibrant downtown Jeannette as renewal effort kicks off

When she was a child, Cherie King remembers visiting a store on Clay Avenue in Jeannette with her grandmother to buy a pair of shoes.

By her 20s, the memories centered around going out at establishments downtown. Jeannette was different then, but there’s no reason a vibrant business district can’t return, she said.

“It was just a wonderful town to come to, there was so much here to see and so much to do,” she said.

As president of the Jeannette Initiative, she’s going to be part of what state and local officials are predicting could be a rebirth of the city. The nonprofit was awarded a $25,000 state grant to help businesses and residents in the central business district, including Clay Avenue, improve building facades.

An event Wednesday was attended by officials from the state Department of Community and Economic Development as well as city leaders and those associated with local groups hoping to improve Jeannette.

In December, city council approved a measure to join the Jeannette Redevelopment Authority, Jeannette Business Association and Jeannette Initiative in creating a revitalization partnership. That coordination and Wednesday’s grant could pave the way for the city to tap into a huge chunk of state money through the Main Street Program.

Bill Fontana, retired executive director of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, said communities in the program receive an average of $750,000 to $1 million in state funding over five years. But the community has to find a means to pay for the annual salary of a Main Street manager — about $50,000, he said. Fontana will work with officials in Jeannette over the next one to two years in an effort to find that money. The center works with communities in the Main Street Program.

That could be a next step for Jeannette. But for now, King said the facade grant will be a good test.

“I feel very confident with the group that we have here, with us all working together, that we’re definitely going to make that happen,” she said.

DCED deputy secretary of community affairs and development Rick Vilello said Jeannette is a worthwhile investment for the grant.

“It means so, so much because I know the difference it can make,” he said.

There are 13 applicants so far and the Jeannette Initiative had an informational meeting for others Wednesday night, King said. Each application will be weighed based on the impact the improvements could have. The maximum amount allowed per grant is $5,000 and applicants have to match the amount they receive.

“I believe this is a first step in the many great things that are going to be happening for our residents and business owners,” said Mayor Curtis Antoniak.

Johnna Pro, DCED southwest regional director, praised the work of government and business leaders to help the community recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Today is emblematic of the energy and the work that is continuing here in Jeannette,” she said.

Westmoreland County Commissioners Doug Chew and Ted Kopas both shared memories of visiting a vibrant Clay Avenue as children.

“With the pride I see here today, there’s no reason that we can’t go back to that,” Chew said.

County officials have been heavily involved in helping Jeannette redevelop problem properties — from the former Jeannette Glass plant that now houses a multi-million dollar Elliott Group facility to the decrepit former Fort Pitt Brewery that is slated for demolition this summer.

But, Kopas said, that work hasn’t been maximized on Clay Avenue just yet.

”We owe it to our kids and grand-kids to have the same memories we did,” he said.