By JEFF STITT
Jonathan Stark, a self-described “developer at heart,” doesn’t agree with naysayers who believe McKeesport’s best days are in the past.
And few things motivate Stark more than being told, “It can’t be done.”
Some balked when he made the move a couple of years ago to buy the People’s Bank Building — which sits in the heart of town along Walnut Street between Lysle Boulevard and Fifth Avenue — from the McKeesport Redevelopment Authority.
They made similar remarks when, amid the pandemic, Stark moved to purchase the condemned Executive Building, which is on Fifth Avenue and is essentially diagonally across from the People’s Building.
Stark is on a mission to bring life back to both historic buildings, which he hopes will spark an interest from businesses and developers considering moving to or doing work in McKeesport’s downtown business district.
The Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County this week announced the People’s Bank Building has been awarded a $250,000 Community Infrastructure and Tourism grant.
Stark, along with his crews and Bill Brown, who’s been managing the building for more than two decades, have done a lot of work to fix the building up, both on the inside and the outside.
Stark said he’s worked closely with the county redevelopment authority as well as the City of McKeesport and its redevelopment authority.
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