By Courtney L. Anderson
SHARON — Construction of The Lofts at City Centre in downtown Sharon should begin early next year, about two years after the project of Shenango Avenue Associates was announced.
�We�re finally getting moving,� said developer Greg Koledin of Wesex Corp. in West Middlesex, the general contractor on the project.
City leaders are happy the long-awaited development is coming to fruition.
�I�m really excited about it,� Sharon Mayor Bob Lucas said.
Council President Mike Donato spoke for his fellow councilmen.
�I think we all agree that it�s going to be a plus, not just for the downtown area, but for the city in general,� he said.
Lucas noted that the city�s �inherent problem� is a declining population and The Lofts will bring more housing downtown. He said he hopes Penn State Shenango students will take advantage of it.
The Lofts will be a mixed-use building with about 50 apartments and retail and office space. It will be built at the site of the former Elks Club at Pitt Street and Shenango Avenue.
Koledin said they hope to have people moving in for the spring 2011 semester at Penn State. The campus was a draw for the developers.
In March, Koledin said the delay in building the eight-story building turned out to be a �blessing� because the project underwent a complete redesign and now will have environmentally friendly elements. He said they�re just finishing up plans for the geothermal heating system.
Koledin and partner Brian Beader, who is an electrician and Mercer County commissioner, had originally planned to break ground on the project last fall. Koledin said that people should start seeing movement at the site by the end of winter.
On Thursday, Koledin said that the project has been tied up by �bureaucracy,� namely in getting some state grant funds awarded over the last two years into the developers� hands.
Sharon council Thursday passed a resolution authorizing Shenango Avenue Associates to use $500,000 from a Department of Community and Economic Development Growing Greener grant for phase one of the project. The city is a pass-through agent for the grants.
Koledin said that�s the first draw on a $4 million state grant for the $12 million project.
Paperwork for a $3 million state Rural Community Assistance Program grant should be finalized in 60 to 90 days, Koledin said. Gov. Ed Rendell presented the grant to city officials in summer 2008.
The building was also just recently officially assigned 52 equivalent dwelling units to tap into Sharon�s wastewater-treatment system, he said. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection determines how many new users can join the system that feeds the new $45 million plant, which went online over the summer.
