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Lawrence County to buy church for offices, parking
County commissioners have agreed to pay $275,000 for the 25,000-square-foot downtown building.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Lawrence County has committed to buying the former Second Presbyterian Church, 439 Countyline St., to house some county offices and expand parking.
County commissioners voted unanimously at their meeting Tuesday to buy the three-story building for $275,000 from Paul Lynch Investments.
The building is next door to the courthouse. The sale will not close for several weeks because Lynch, a Neshannock Township resident, is out of town.
Commissioners now pay $13,500 annually to lease the basement of the 25,000-square-foot church building to store voting machines, and to use the parking lot.
The purchase will allow conversion of the rest of the three-story building to offices and possibly even a courtroom, as well as provide public meeting places for the community, officials said. It will also make more than 20 additional parking spaces available.
Commissioner Steve Craig said an environmental assessment is already under way with an eye toward trying to get federal funds to retrofit the building in an environmentally efficient way.
The church does not have an elevator and will also have to be made handicapped-accessible, commissioners said.
Commissioner Dan Vogler revealed that when the Shenango Presbytery offered the building for sale earlier this year, the county had made a $250,000 offer, which the Presbytery turned down.
However, Commissioner Richard DeBlasio pointed out that the building is still a bargain with its value listed at $780,000 by the county assessment office.
Commissioners listed Mental Health/Mental Retardation, now housed on Jefferson Street, Adult Probation, which is housed in a building next to the courthouse, and Juvenile Probation, which is in the courthouse, as three offices they might move to the church building.
The church closed in April after 125 years in the community.