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Press Release

Contact:  
Vera Sansalone, Main Street Fairmont, 304-366-0468
Neil Cotiaux, FHLBank Pittsburgh: 412-335-9488, Neil.cotiaux@fhlb-pgh.com

Main Street Fairmont is Awarded Mini-Grant for Blueprint Communities Project

Pittsburgh, PA, December 14, 2011 – The Blueprint Communities initiative of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) of Pittsburgh has awarded Main Street Fairmont an $11,000 mini-grant. The grant will be used for predevelopment activities associated with the adaptive reuse of the Masonic Temple.  

The Masonic Temple has been the focus of the Fairmont Southside Blueprint Community Team (as part of Main Street Fairmont) revitalization efforts for the past two years. The City of Fairmont has acquired ownership of the building and, partnering with Main Street Fairmont, secured a $35,000 matching grant to replace the roof from the WV SHPO, a $2,000 grant to conduct a structural assessment of the building from the West Virginia Community Development HUB, and approximately $15,000 in technical assistance from BB&T Bank/National Development Council.  The City of Fairmont was also fortunate to receive a FOCUS I and II grant which helped remediate the hazardous materials inside the building and perform a market assessment to determine the future use of the building.

The next stage in redevelopment is to clean out the building to remove the numerous materials of the former owner, who used the building as a vertical storage container. Preliminary cost estimates assessed removal and disposal of debris at $27,000. The $11,000 provided by FHLBank will aid the team in offsetting the cost to properly recycle materials and dispose of garbage.

The Masonic Temple is considered a “white elephant” structure whose large, grandiose nature deters individuals from redeveloping the building. The partnership among the City of Fairmont, Main Street Fairmont and the Fairmont Blueprint Community Team has slowly chipped away at the obstacles preventing this building from being placed back into productive use. The grant from  FHLBank will greatly extend the limited resources of the Fairmont team and assist the group in transforming the built environment of Fairmont.

How the grant was won

Earlier this year, FHLBank invited active Blueprint Communities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to submit project applications as part of a competitive mini-grant funding process. Projects were evaluated for their ability to expand the capacity of Blueprint teams, leverage dollars, and positively impact the community. Of 16 applications received, six projects were awarded a total of $63,000.

The Blueprint Communities effort in Fairmont is spearheaded by a committee made up of business, civic, and governmental leaders. The group was formed in 2007 as one of ten original Blueprint Communities across the state. The  initiative was created to help civic leaders in older, smaller communities develop enhanced leadership skills, create greater capacity to enact positive change, and formulate a fresh vision and strategy to meet pressing community needs. Blueprint Communities is expected to serve as an ongoing catalyst for projects of local importance.

FHLBank Pittsburgh is a wholesale bank that serves the housing finance and community and economic development needs of its owner-members. FHLBank Pittsburgh provides reliable access to low-cost funds, competitive pricing in the purchase of mortgage loans, correspondent banking, technical assistance, affordable housing grants and other programs so members can better serve their own communities. FHLBank Pittsburgh is privately capitalized and funded and does not use taxpayer dollars. As of September 30, 2011, the Bank had 300 members in its district of Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and held approximately $47 billion in assets. FHLBank Pittsburgh is one of twelve Banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, established by Congress in 1932 to support the residential mortgage activities of local financial institutions.