New Ken landmark sold to developer
NEW KENSINGTON: City officials were all smiles Monday after selling the old Logan Trust building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street.
The deal marked what they said is the beginning of the rebuilding of downtown New Kensington.
KeWe New Kensington LLC, a division of a Carnegie-based company, purchased the building from the New Kensington Redevelopment Authority for $400,000.
KeWe officials said they wanted to turn the building into an office complex that could house up to 150 employees.
Citizens Bank and the redevelopment authority currently are housed in the building, which for many years was home to Mellon Bank. For about the past decade, the six-story, almost century-old structure has stood largely vacant.
Citizens and the redevelopment authority have signed 15-year leases to remain in the building, said Michael Westover, partner in KeWe.
According to Kim McAfoose, redevelopment authority executive director, Citizens' decision was unusual because "banks usually won't sign a lease for that long."
Kelly said bluntly that the deal couldn't have been completed without the commitment from Citizens, which is one of three banks near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street.
PNC Bank sits on the corner diagonal from Citizens, and Parkvale Savings sits on the same side of Fifth Avenue as Citizens -- only two empty lots away.
KeWe officials said they planned to spend up to $500,000 more renovating the building and developing the two vacant lots adjacent to it. Tentative plans call for Citizens to build a drive-thru in the one empty lot and for the construction of a parking lot in the other.
KeWe officials said the renovations and the influx of tenants and jobs would happen over the next few years.
"Our ultimate goal is to find new jobs and new tenants for New Kensington," KeWe partner Jim Kelly said.
The third partner in the KeWe group is George Jordan. The three said that together they have done about half a billion dollars in real estate and have 75 combined years of experience in development.
Kelly said that KeWe has not solidified a deal with any prospective tenant. KeWe's intentions, he said, are to create a mix of medical, law and possibly government offices in the 41,000-square-foot building.
City officials contacted KeWe in February in hopes of spurring development in the downtown. Kelly said that during a tour of the downtown, the Logan Trust building stood out as a potential home for development.
"We bought into the future as they (city officials) saw it," he said. "We see great potential in New Kensington."
According to Westover, KeWe has plans for other developments in the downtown.
City officials said they were enthralled with KeWe's commitment and were certain that it would be the first of many.
"This is the first step to a (number) of investment opportunities that they have committed to," Councilman Mike Langer said.
Mayor Frank Link said that city officials finally are starting to see some of the fruits of their labor in terms of development and that they are pressing forward with other plans such as clearing the land behind the post office.
"Hopefully we'll have some other things coming up," he said.
