Volpatt Construction has been awarded a $4.2 million contract for the Etna Center for Community, the Etna Community Organization announced Monday, April 14.
Construction started immediately on the renovation of the historic Ochse Hall, built in the 1870s by one of Etna’s founding families, at 341-343 Butler St., the organization said.
When complete by the summer of 2026, the center will include a public library, an office for the nonprofit Etna Community Organization, a new “great room” addition, a courtyard dedicated to former Mayor Tom Rengers and his family, and four apartments across two upper floors.
Rengers, a borough councilman for 11 years and mayor for 19 years, was 71 when he died from prostate cancer in December 2023.
The building will serve as a hub for learning, connection and growth, said Bridget Barrett, president of the Etna Community Organization board.
“We’re excited to be celebrating this significant milestone for our community,” Barrett said in a statement. “The renovation of this historic asset marks the beginning of a new era of opportunity for all residents. We are committed to realizing the Etna Center for Community as a place that reflects our core values — sustainability, resiliency and social equity.”
The center will have two solar arrays to reduce operating costs and 100% rainwater collection and diversion to reduce the impact of storms.
During construction, a waste diversion plan will include Construction Junction deconstructing interior old-growth timber not being used in the building to resell at its facility and Michael Brothers source separating other waste streams and recycling when possible. Volpatt will issue a monthly report detailing the total tonnage diverted from landfills.
“As a contractor known for the preservation and restoration of historic buildings, we are honored to partner with ECO to restore this beloved property and provide the community with a place to gather,” Michael Volpatt, vice president of marketing and innovation at Volpatt, said in a statement.
The Etna Community Organization and the borough have been working since 2017 to establish a public library in the community. The borough’s last library closed after the devastating flooding from Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Robert Tuñón, now Etna’s mayor, and his wife, Megan, executive director of the Etna Community Organization since December 2020, bought the Ochse Building in November 2017, three years after moving to Etna, and in August 2022 sold it to the organization for the same price they paid for it.
Etna Manager Mary Ellen Ramage said she is thrilled to see a library returning.
“Our people are our greatest asset, and by bringing back this kind of public space and shared resources, we can only grow closer and stronger,” Ramage said.
As of November, money toward the project totaled just under $6 million. That includes $3 million in federal funding secured in 2024 by U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, a $1.5 million grant through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Grant Program and $500,000 awarded as part of the Multipurpose Community Facilities Program, funded by the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
There also was $400,000 from the state’s Local Share Account in 2023, about $174,000 from the state’s Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund in 2022 and a $100,000 Keystone Communities Grant in 2021.
Mayor Tuñón said a library in the heart of the community “is the most important thing we could do for our children and our seniors alike.
“We wouldn’t be starting construction without the incredible support we’ve received from our partners at the county, state and federal levels, who came through with key grants that made this project possible.”