Colleen Ott stepped into the cold from her West Jeannette home Friday morning to get a good look at history happening on her street.
She raised her cellphone to take a picture of an eight-story brick tower at the former Fort Pitt Brewery site being torn to pieces. She’s been watching the demolition of the complex since it started in mid-July.
The tower is the last major section of the buildings to be ripped apart.
“Part of history going down,” Ott said.
Demolition on the final piece started Friday morning and is expected to continue Saturday. Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank officials want residents and passersby to stay away from the site because of potential risks. The tower is an estimated 90 feet tall.
Contractor GEMM Demolition constructed a ramp for heavy machinery to reach the upper part of the building that once housed brewery equipment. That machinery easily ripped apart a top portion of the tower Friday as work got underway.
The complex was acquired by the Westmoreland County Land Bank for $1,876 in a judicial sale two years ago. The buildings had been a headache for city officials for many years prior, previously being targets for vandals and other troublemakers.
“It’s coming down, I think, smoother than anticipated,” said senior project manager Hallie Chatfield from inside a warm SUV. She will be at the site during the tower demolition.
“It’s going to brighten up the west end of Jeannette,” Chatfield said. “This demolition’s going to bring new opportunities and life to the city.”
A few schoolchildren waiting for their bus Friday morning watched, as did some motorists who slowed in their vehicles to take pictures. Ott, who has lived on Penn Avenue off and on since the 1970s, said she had mixed feelings about the demolition because it’s unknown what the future holds.
“Hopefully, something good goes in there,” she said.
A second environmental assessment will be conducted after the demolition and help guide potential reuse of the property.
The project is being paid for through a $10.4 million pot of American Rescue Plan funding set aside by Westmoreland County for blight remediation in seven communities, including Jeannette. Demolition work was expected to take about six months.
The West Jeannette site previously was home to Victor Brewing Co., which organized in 1907. Fort Pitt Brewing bought the property in 1941, according to news accounts. In the mid-1950s, Papercraft Corp. expanded its gift wrap manufacturing operations there before the plant went dormant in the mid-1970s.
It later was purchased by Laurel Mould, which produced plastic food containers. The property was sold at sheriff’s sale and later purchased by Rufus Corp.