![]() “We’re looking to get the laundromat ready, and we’re hopeful that the funding will fall into place. “Our plan was to raise the floor in the café and put a new facade on the Fourth Avenue side, but the money is not there,” Rankin said. The initial plan was to get the entire first floor ready to go, which would have included a food-related venture, he said. We had some expected grants that didn’t come through.” “Funding from the government and from foundations all shifted to covid-related initiatives. “The nature of grant funding has changed completely,” Rankin said. On Friday, Rankin said that in light of residual funding effects from covid-19, project leaders have switched gears. “The borough welcomes businesses, particularly ones that serve unmet needs,” he said. The laundromat will take up about 2,000 square feet on the first floor.īorough Manager Dwight Boddorf said community leaders are looking forward to seeing work resume. He plans to have five or six different sized, high-tech machines that will accept cash or credit. If all goes as planned, the laundry service could be up and running by spring, he said. I think it will be a great asset to the community.” “I’ve had to change my plans a couple times, but I’m still committed. “I’ve been ready to go for three years,” DeCroo said. DeCroo also owns Plaza Laundry in Harrison and the Springdale Laundromat. The money from the Department of Community and Economic Development was used to deepen the floors and transform what was basically a crawlspace.īuffalo Township businessman Joe DeCroo signed a 20-year lease to operate the laundry facility and is eager to see the doors open. It also got a nearly $211,000 state grant to help pay for excavation of The Depot’s basement to accommodate the laundromat. It received a $67,600 grant to replace the roof and a stormwater system. The 10,000-square-foot building has sat empty since it was purchased.īy 2018, the group gained momentum. The group sought to complete a $1 million renovation of the space by 2016.īut Rankin said it took time for funding sources to get on board. “Now, we’re exploring what it’s going to take to just get the laundry open.”įaith Community Partners was launched in 2015 by members of Central Presbyterian Church, also in Tarentum. ![]() We’ve had no progress for two years because of covid. “Cuts in funding have caused us to hit snags. “But then covid hit and everything stopped,” said Dave Rankin, head of the nonprofit. The Depot, in the 300 block of Fifth Avenue, was hailed as a first-of-its-kind co-working space with a Wi-Fi cafe and laundromat.īacked by nonprofit Faith Community Partners, The Depot project received several state grants totalling more than $500,000 to transform a former ceramics store into a training and gathering spot. A community resource center in Tarentum that was expected to open in 2021 is slowly rebounding from what organizers say was a covid-induced stall.
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