Council prepares to purchase old Elks Building

NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- City council has instructed the city solicitor to prepare a development agreement with Tri-Cinema Inc. for the purchase and renovation of the former Elks Building.
Representatives from the California-based company have said they intend to restore the building at the corner of North Mill and Falls streets to its original condition.
Council also agreed last week to rezone land in the Grant Street area east of Highland Avenue from residential to commercial. The move accommodates a plan by the Highland House, a halfway house for recovering alcohol- and drug-dependent women at 312 Highland Ave., to move a few doors south.
The agency, which is looking to relocate to expand its facilities, has agreed to pay Greater New Castle Development Corp., which owns the land, $65,000 for the property. Earlier this year, council vacated a portion of Grant Street, essentially paving the way for the project.
Council also granted a conditional use to Benny Lombardo for the operation of a garage at 420 and 422 Croton Ave., in a commercial area. Lombardo's business was displaced by the development of a New Castle Area Transit Authority park-and-ride facility at the corner of Croton Avenue and East Washington Street.