Project Sign

 Because of the shallowness of the utility lines on hillside way, the water will be shutoff every day during working hours. The daily time will be approximately 7:00 AM and ending at 6:00 PM starting Monday 09/28/09. Residents of Hillside Way would be advised to store water for, cooking and flushing toilets. After the water is turned back on, it would be advised to let all taps run until the water runs clear before using.

It is always good to look at the positive side of the little inconveniences of the construction. Our little town of Avella will reap the rewards of, cleaner waterways, and a better chance of attracting businesses to the area.

The only real complaints that I have heard, are that the residents feel as if they are left in the dark. No one was notified of the start date of project. We were not informed of the date that our area would be worked on and how it would effect getting in and out of our properties. Of course we are us to this in Avella. The Supervisors feel, the less the populous knows the less negative feedback they will have to put up with. The sad thing about that is, the people vote the same people back in every time.

ABA

Below are photos of the beginning of the sewage preparation plant.

Building 1 Sewage Plant

The Sewage Plant

Building 2

The Avella Area Community Association ,has been working hard over the summer on the bank project. The “Old Gresti Appliance Store” has been demolished and removed. The glass for the windows has been ordered, and the Drawings for the building are done. Inside, tempory lighting has been installed. 

I will be going inside to take some photos in the next week or two. For now I have a few shots of the outside.

Side towards the railroad tracks.

The slab that the dumpster is setting on is where the old store was. 

Side towards rt.50

The north side of the building will be the side people see when they enter the town on route 50.

The west entrance will be the main entrance. On the south side (towards the tracks) will be handicap acccessible.

I have a few other shots of the north side of the build.

Stairs to the basement.

The blue stripes let the public know, there was a barber shop in the basement.

The side towards rt.50.

Office

This is an office located in the south west conor of the building. I took the shot through a broken window.

I will have more pictures of the progress on the inside of the building soon.

ABA

Below is an article that was posted in the Observer/Reporter on 4-10-07.
Original Article

By Michael Jones
Staff writer
mjones@observer-reporter.com
AVELLA – Peering up at the towering Lincoln National Bank, Tom Jennings envisions a bustling building that could become a cornerstone for redevelopment in Avella.
Never mind that most of its windows are broken and vines stretch across the 84-year-old brick facade. Or, that a leaking roof has destroyed much of the building’s interior. Or, even that the building hasn’t been occupied since the Great Depression.

“You got to have a lot of vision,” Jennings said, slowly sipping his mug of coffee while standing next to the busted front doors. “It looks rough, but clear away the debris and it will look a lot better.”
Jennings and other members of the Avella Area Community Association are fighting to save the building from the wrecking ball ever since Independence Township supervisors in December began discussing whether to raze it.
Members of the community group are asking the supervisors to give them enough time to prove a restoration of the building would be safe and economically viable. They contend they have reached an agreement to purchase the building for a nominal price from the current property owners, the Ciaffoni family.
John Ciaffoni would not comment on the building or a potential sale to the community group.
The Lincoln National Bank opened in Avella in 1905 inside a smaller wooden structure before crews constructed the current building in 1923. A modern marvel at the time, it dwarfed other businesses in the quaint town. But when the bank closed in the early 1930s, it fell into disrepair.
“This building stands as a testament to the Depression,” Jennings said, pausing for a moment. “This was a thriving community and a booming mine town.”
The building’s facade remains in good condition with little wear or vandalism, although the padlocked doors have since been ripped open, allowing vandals to ravage parts of the interior that weren’t weathered by time.
A layer of ice covers the first floor and icicles hang from the ceiling of the dark and dank lobby, which holds the frigid cold like a freezer. Pop cans, empty cigarette packs and even a lawnmower are scattered across the floor next to a tiny portal once used by the bank teller. Dirt and weeds hang from around the wooden stairwell that leads to the building’s second floor.
Upstairs, the ceiling’s steel frame is visible after much of the plaster collapsed from the leaking roof that continuously drips water onto gashes in the floorboards. Rays of sunlight shine through the broken windows and into the sprawling upper floor. Graffiti covers much of the walls and towering pillars.
Despite the mess, Jennings, Dale Tudor and his wife, Marcy, have a clear vision of how they would restore the building and what it would become to the community. Engineers have told them the building is structurally stable, they said, and reconstruction costs are estimated at less than $1 million.
Their imaginations run wild when they ponder what stores could go inside, suggesting a historical center, restaurant, antique shop, bar or, fittingly, a bank. Dale Tudor suggested Avella could become a tourist spot with the reopening of the nearby train station and renovations to Meadowcroft’s rockshelter archaeological excavation site.
“Avella could be a real destination for people from Pittsburgh, Steubenville and Wheeling,” he said.
Jennings added the building could become a beacon for economical development.
“I see a focal point for the town,” Jennings said. “I see it lit up and a place where people will be proud to enjoy Avella for its uniqueness and historical value.”
But township officials do not share a similar sentiment and have branded the building a hazard. Township solicitor Bob Clarke said officials are taking legal steps to demolish the building, although the current property owners oppose the move. The fate of the building could remain in limbo until the end of the year, Clarke said.
“The condition of the building is such, we cannot let it continue (to stand),” Clarke said. “It’s just unsafe, and it must come down.”
Max Morgan, executive director for the Washington County Council on Economical Development, has a special interest in the building because his father, a medic during World War I, directed its construction following the war. He commended the association’s efforts and hoped the building would remain standing.
“They got a big fight out there,” he said. “But if they’re inspired to improve their little community, they should be congratulated.”
Jennings admitted the supervisors’ position is a minor setback, but is convinced the community will rally around a landmark that has stood dormant for most of the 20th century.
“There’s a lot of hope here,” Jennings said. “We can never be more enthusiastic of what could be, and looking at what is.”

There has been a fund raising effort going on in order to continue the renovations of the building. We have sold raffle tickets, that give you a chance at winning $600.00. We are also selling Kroger cards and a portion of the money goes towards the cause. When you by the card it is loaded with $5.00, you can refill the card with any amount you wish and a portion will go to help the Bank Building.

I have heard that the committee has run into some opposition from the township once again. Once again they are trying to hold up the project, and demolish the structure. We have also had some of te local youth brake the locks off the doors and steal the cleaning supplies and other equipment that had been stored in the building.

My Thoughts

What is needed in this township is law-enforcement, and not the State Police and County Sheriffs riding through two times a day. We need to hire one fulltime and one or two part-time officers. The wining I hear at the township meetings is that they don’t have the money to undertake this. “Well if that is the case, where did they get the money to by the old municipal building, too tear it down and build a new building on the site?” This will also cost about 40 to 60 thousand to hire an engineer to draw up the plans for the new building.

One of the major reasons the tonwship cannot atract busineses to the area is lack of police protection. Why should we allow them to spend that kind of money on a building that is not really needed when the have plenty of builds that could house the office. I have been told that they need the space for records, and I have suggested that they have them put on a computer program, again I was told that they can’t afford it. We need to find out what they are doing with the tax dollars that we pay. The town looks like a dump, the roads are crumbling, and we lost out EMTs a long time ago.

We now have a population that is basically made up of people that were not born in this town, and have moved in because of the low rent, and taxes. (They are not really all that low.) However, when you get that happening you also find that they don’t take pride in the town because 8 out of 10 will not be here longer than 2 years.

Recently we have had a string of tagging, and vandalism by kids whose families have moved here because they were chased out of other towns for their gang type activities. I have chased some of theses kids from in front of one of the store where my wife works, for skate boarding during business hours, and harassing the older people that shop there. The only thing that happen was, they retaliated by tagging and vandalizing the store. When I told the State Police who did it they said that they have to catch them in the act. This Just one more reason law enforcement is needed in this town.

May I suggest that as many people attend the meetings as possible, and voice our concern on these problems, and if we do not get satisfaction, run people that will address them.

ABA

Here is some footage, of the bank building. There is a lot of Potential for this building. With a little hard work and a cash flow it will be the center piece of the town.

After a long conversation with a friend of mind, I found out that one of my hopes for this sleepy little village is in the process of coming true. A group of local businesses, and citizens have gotten together and are going to restore the old Lincoln National Bank.

The bank is one of the last remaining original buildings left in this town. However it is not the original Bank. Setting directly behind the bank building is the original bank. It is now an apartment building.

A Short History

Preservation Pennsylvania

Lincoln National Bank, 1575 Avella Road, Independence Township, Washington County
Opened in 1905 in the coal-mining town of Avella, this bank was a vital part of the
community in the early 20th century boasting of deposits in excess of $1.75 million.
During the depression the bank failed and it closed in 1931 with only $ 43,000 cash on
hand.

The imposing brick structure is prominently located in the small town and has
been deteriorating over the last 75 years. Township officials have ordered its demolition
while the Avella Community Association have been trying to work with the current owner
to have the building turned over to them for use by the community. The owner has
expressed a willingness to work with the Association but the Township is pressuring for
demolition.