Coyle Theater renovation plans face uncertain future
By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
While the demolition of two buildings next to the Coyle Theater in Charleroi will soon be complete, the fate of the iconic building is uncertain.
The buildings at 335 and 337 McKean Ave., were deemed unsafe as the Mon Valley Alliance, the property owner, conducted months-long studies on the Coyle to determine feasibility.
After the demolition is complete in about two weeks, the sites will be graded and made ready for future development.
Plans to rehabilitate the former theater, which opened in 1927 and closed in 1999, were announced by the Alliance in December following more than a year of work to determine the feasibility of the McKean Avenue property.
But, Alliance interim Chief Executive Officer John Easoz said the organization has not yet decided the fate of the Coyle.
A judge approved the sale of the building to the Alliance in December 2016.
The feasibility study, which revealed that the Coyle is salvageable, did not determine the same fate for neighboring structures on McKean Avenue.
Although the Coyle property is structurally sound, it will need millions of dollars in renovations.
The proposed $7.5 million project would completely renovate the theater’s interior and replace the unsafe structures with a new building.
The Alliance was hoping a small part of the funding, about $300,000, would come from Washington County Local Share Account funding generated from revenues at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in North Strabane township.
However, the Coyle project was not chosen as a 2019 LSA recipient.
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