Potential buyer emerges for City Mission building

Monongahela Heritage Church is eyeing the downtown location for a thrift store for the community.

The City Mission Thrift Store plans to close its Monongahela location on Saturday, but a potential buyer for the building may be in the works.

During Monongahela council’s meeting Wednesday, Monongahela Heritage Church representatives Steve Brosgol and Tobias Provan announced their church is looking into potentially buying the space that is owned by City Mission. Provan said that they’ve already had talks with City Mission about purchasing and taking over the space.

“We do a free kids’ clothes giveaway twice a year during the Monongahela Fleatique out there and it’s been such a blessing to be able to give clothes to people that need them,” Brosgol said. “And then we found out that the City Mission store was closing. We just have a similar heart; we want to keep a thrift store in the community.

“We want to be able to offer things that people can afford. And not only that, we want to be able to give away clothes to people who need them through a voucher system. And that’s really the heart of it all.” Provan and Brosgol said they’ve had discussions with City Mission officials about the price, and they’re planning to start raising funds to purchase the building.

“We’re hoping to do a fundraiser, because City Mission owns that building, so they want to sell it,” Brosgol said. “We’ve been trying to work out some arrangements with them, and I think we have a deal, but now we have to do some fundraising.”

The City Mission thrift store in Monongahela opened in July 2021 at 211 W. Main St. and served as both a low-cost shopping option and a donation drop-off point for area residents. The thrift store supported the Washington County-based nonprofit by raising funds for its efforts.

The decision to close the Monongahela location follows the November shutdown of its Rostraver Township site and is part of a wider restructuring effort to bolster financial support for the mission’s shelter and outreach initiatives.

City Mission officials have stated that this move aims to optimize resource allocation and secure the long-term sustainability of its main services, including emergency shelter, recovery programs, and job training.

Brosgol and Provan both said they’re not sure yet of the timeline to purchase and open the store.

Monongahela Strategic Plan

Representatives from Leadership Pittsburgh’s Leadership Development Initiative, a nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh, formally introduced themselves to council members and explained their recent activities in the city.

Amanda Mueller, one of the representatives from Leadership Pittsburgh, explained that they’re working with Mon Valley Alliance to create a strategic plan for the city with a five-year outlook.

“We’re here to talk to stakeholders, see what they need, and just work with people here to develop a look ahead, basically just a plan,” Mueller said. “So we’re looking at Main Street initiatives, economic initiatives, public safety initiatives, housing initiatives, community service, youth, everything.”

If adopted by the city, the new strategic plan could help the city secure grants for future projects and provide a roadmap for the next couple of years.

Mueller said that they’re planning to have listening sessions for local residents and that they’re planning to release dates sometime in the near future. Mueller added that there’s an ongoing survey where Monongahela residents can give details of their experiences in the city.

The link to their survey is: https://docs.google.com/ forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSczk-T9k5FjJdmZdiCBToTV ThUG_VHRHXI7B1 0 l 6 i L D B W 3 _ W e w / viewform.

The survey can also be found on the Mon Valley Alliance Facebook page.

Jenni Hartwell, also part of the Leadership Development Initiative, said they will be at Little City Coffee at 418 W. Main St.. Monongahela, from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday to talk to residents.

“Feel free to stop by chat, bring your friends, spread the word,” Hartwell said. “This Friday, we’ll be at Little City Coffee, and then each week we’re going to kind of determine the location.”