JOHNSTOWN —
CamTran expects to settle into its gleaming, new $20 million headquarters in Woodvale by 2014.
And, as with any homeowner switching properties, the question of selling the old place looms large – not only for CamTran but also for neighbors. The last thing Moxham Renaissance Inc., a community support group, wants to see is two large buildings abutting Central Avenue go idle.
“Obviously, that could be a very big eyesore if they just walk away from it,” Barry Gallagher, a real estate agent and board member of the Moxham group, said Thursday. CamTran has pledged to maintain the buildings until a solution is found.
One of the two cavernous buildings – a total of 75,000 square feet – is used as an overnight garage for 31 buses, and the other is used to service and wash the vehicles and for parts storage. Both 1893-built structures will become available once CamTran moves to 300 Maple Ave.
Gallagher already has given the prospect considerable thought.
His ideas tumble out: A paintball park, antiques mall, farmers market.
“The volume, it’s both a blessing and a problem for both buildings,” Gallagher said. “It’s gotta make sense in terms of the business. We’ve got ideas, but funding. ...”
Rose Lucey-Noll, executive director of CamTran, is hopeful about the prospects for the structures.
“If someone wants to be on this side of town, then that’s the thing making that match,” she said while offering journalists the “nickel tour.”
Some repair work is needed, said Shane Lint, the transit agency’s service and purchasing manager. The HVAC system needs work and some roofing would be required.
But, Gallagher said, “There’s nothing that is not structurally sound there.”
Lucey-Noll said the agency currently is at the mercy of the federal government: Permits for the new space are being awaited from the Federal Transit Administration.
So CamTran really can’t move on from the old properties until permits for the new HQ are approved.
Once they are, hopefully within six months, the old buildings will be appraised, a minimum bid will be established and they will be put up for auction, Lucey-Noll said.
The location is a designated brownfields site, she said, so some monetary assistance could be available for site cleanup.
“People are concerned that we’ll abandon it,” Lucey-Noll said. “We won’t let that happen. As long as it’s ours, we’ll have to maintain it.”
Gallagher said Moxham Renaissance has spoken with the city and others about possibly forming a charette – a group of architects, planners and other stakeholders – that would meet and sketch out possible reuse solutions on the nearly 2-acre tract.
“Those car barns are what started Moxham,” he said. “We want to see them preserved; we don’t want to see them torn down. They are a very large piece of our history.
“We have an uphill battle right now, and we don’t need any more on our plate.”
Local News
Related Photos
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Rose Lucey-Noll (top), executive director of CamTran, stands in the Moxham garage where 31 buses are stored. It and another historic building used by CamTran were built in 1893. Todd Berkey
Discussion
CamTran: We won’t take Moxham for a ride
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