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A demolition hearing will be held Sept. 13 for Jeannette officials to take testimony about whether the former Fort Pitt Brewery should be torn down or remain standing.

Fire Chief Bill Frye said the hearing is a formality on the way to the ultimate goal of demolishing the crumbling multi-building complex in West Jeannette and preparing the land for redevelopment. After the hearing, he likely will issue a demolition order. The property was purchased at judicial sale by the Westmoreland County Land Bank on Monday for $1,876.

“We’re really looking forward to working with county redevelopment,” Frye said.

Meanwhile, county officials are getting the behind-the-scenes steps accomplished while awaiting word on Jeannette’s application for $800,000 in state funding to put toward the demolition, said Brian Lawrence, director of the Land Bank and Redevelopment Authority. Funding awards through the state Department of Community and Economic Development could be announced later this year.

Fencing around the 4.6 acre property will be erected in the next few weeks and an environmental study will get underway soon. There is no timeline for the demolition, but Lawrence said the goal is to move as quickly as possible once the funding situation is sorted out. The county will contribute money from its American Rescue Plan allocation, but how much has yet to be determined.

Estimates put demolition costs at $1 million or more.

“It’s valuable for us, for everybody in the public, that multiple agencies have got skin in the game to show commitments on this thing,” Lawrence said.

Liens that were on the property were sorted out in the judicial sale process, he said, though there is the possibility that others may pop up. The property will go through a quiet title process to head off any further challenges or claims that may arise.

• Former Fort Pitt Brewery in Jeannette among dozen of properties bought by land bank • 'Blight monster' brewery site in West Jeannette to be torn down • Jeannette officials aim to stop trespassers at crumbling former brewery • Blighted old brewery complex in Jeannette the 'last big piece' to city's rebuild

“I’m hopeful that we can find a buyer quickly, get it transferred to someone who’s going to do something with the site,” Lawrence said.

Frank Trigona’s Rufus Corp. bought the defunct Fort Pitt Brewery property in 2002. He died in 2015 and the executor — who also since has died — said at the time that the businessman’s estate didn’t have any way to pay delinquent taxes on the property which ultimately sent it through the judicial sale process.

Victor Brewing Co. was organized at the site in 1907 and bought by Fort Pitt Brewing in 1941. Later, Papercraft Corp. expanded its gift wrap manufacturing operations there from its Pittsburgh headquarters until closing the plant in the mid-1970s.

The property later served as space for Laurel Mould in the late 1980s and 1990s. The property was sold at sheriff’s sale in 2001 and Trigona’s company bought it the following year.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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