The former Rivertowne Pub & Grille building in North Huntingdon — which was condemned as unsafe and uninhabitable by the township in October 2021 — is going to be demolished after an almost three-year court battle with its owners.
Township commissioners this week approved advertising for bids to raze the building on Route 30 in the western end of the township and are expected to award a demolition contract in September. Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court paved the way for the demolition when it quashed an appeal of the township’s condemnation decision from owner 1318 Carson St. LLC.
North Huntingdon officials had voted to condemn the building in October 2021, claiming it had broken windows and a collapsed section of floor. A co-owner of the 2.9-acre property, Shivs Real Estate LLC of Mt. Lebanon, argued the property only had some debris and weeds and the building was structurally sound. Shivs appealed the township’s decision to Westmoreland County court and later to Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, which quashed the appeal this summer.
Prasad Margabandhu, a co-owner of Shivs, could not be reached for comment.
The building has stood vacant and deteriorating since it was closed after the previous owner, Rivertowne Brewery Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2018 in an attempt to reorganize its finances. Rivertowne’s bankruptcy eventually also resulted in the closing of its taverns on Pittsburgh’s North Shore and in Verona and Monroeville. Its brewery and tasting room in Murrysville was acquired by Helltown Brewing of Mt. Pleasant.
Shivs co-owned the property with former Rivertowne partners Christian Fyke and Joseph Boros Jr., both of Monroeville. Fyke sold his one-half interest in the property to Shivs in January 2019 for $7,500. Boros and Fyke had purchased the property in 2011 for $511,000. Fyke was able to sell the property without bankruptcy court approval because he and Boros personally owned it.
PNC National Bank Association foreclosed on the property in 2021, citing the $449,000 it said Shivs Real Estate, Boros and Fyke owed the bank.
The property subsequently was sold in a Westmoreland County Sheriff’s sale in 2021 to 1318 Carson St. Margabandhu’s brother, Sivram, signed the sale document. Sivram had failed in an attempt to establish a restaurant at site with an expired liquor license from a business he operated behind the Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield.
Rivertowne’s multiple bankruptcy cases were not closed until 2020, at which time the case was converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.