-January 2017, Developer (Saad)purchases Rave Cinema property for $550,000, less than half the price that ToM was under agreement to purchase one year prior.
-January, 2016 the Town of McCandless ends deal with Allegheny Land Trust to purchase Rave Cinema Property.
RAVE Cinema Sale to ToM & Allegheny Land Trust
Dec.7, 2015
This is a report from the reconvened Town Council meeting which took place on Dec. 7 at Town Hall. The only item on the agenda was an update of the sale of the Rave Cinema to ToM and ALT.
Toby Cordek, town manager, spoke first. He said they had a lot of interest from state and federal sources that he thought could provide grant money for the Rave Cinema purchase project. He said they have $1Mil in grant requests ready to go, if this sale goes through (and when the state settles its budget).
He said that they have had two estimates (not bids) from Norelco and Pardini for building demo and they are between $250, 000 and $500,000 (Note: that is in addition to $1,250,00 for the property purchase).
Other estimates (not bids) have come in for asphalt removal ($35,000), concrete removal ($48,000). Asbestos was not found in the ceiling, but it was found in the 1970’s tiles and would cost approx. $25,000 to remove.
He stated that the township cannot disclose the appraisal price of the land.
After that Roy Kraynck, from Allegheny Land Trust spoke to explain the environmental side and due diligence being done as Phase1 (site assessment). First, he stated up front that the agreement between ALT and Rave prevents disclosure of the environmental state of the site. (He was questioned later about that but his answer was to compare this deal to a house sale in which you wouldn’t want a problem printed in the newspaper about the condition of your house to influence future interest. Citizens later questioned that analogy on the grounds that the townspeople are the homeowners in that equation and should have the information.)
He then announced that they would like to do additional testing on soil and the site and that ALT had been given a 30 day extension to do more research. There were a lot of dates thrown around but it seems the due diligence will now end Jan. 18th and the closing date is extended until (?-Not sure if that is one month from tonight or from Dec. 31st.. When questioned he said that if they found that all was okay to proceed they could actually go ahead with the closing by Dec. 31st.
The Council asked two questions. One from Mr. Aufman was what would happen if the site is polluted? Mr. Kraynck’s answer was that “risk assessment” would be done by an environmental lawyer from ALT.
Then came the comments and questions from the people. The town hall was about ¾ full. The majority was definitely in opposition. Everyone that spoke questioned the validity of this project. No one spoke in support of this deal. The citizens who spoke all asked pertinent questions that ranged from- soil sampling to the lack of business sense in this deal. People made hard hitting, very valid comments that showed McCandless citizens are engaged and on top of this issue. Council members were called out for things they had said in the press, comments were made about how the council is not being transparent about this project. The comments from citizens to council were received with lots of support and applause from the audience!
One of the most asked (and unanswered by town administration or council) questions was about the need for a ceiling on the cost of remediation. It was clear the town has no plan. No idea at what point they will stop spending our tax dollars. They just kept saying we have to see the reports first, but they are not willing to say how high they will go with our money before they withdraw from this deal. At the end of the meeting Mr. Aufman did say that pollution in the soil would stop them going forward.
Now we have to see if that will hold up, because the site is obviously polluted or they would not order more research. But here’s the thing, they don’t even have to tell us. All ALT has to do is tell McCandless how much it will cost to clean up. The “open checkbook” conundrum was brought up several times by citizens.
They said there will be no council vote, they have already voted to approve the sale. They will vote if the due diligence proves to require them to consider withdrawing. This makes no sense. There is no plan.
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November 3, 2015:
At a public hearing the entire council ignored and refused to answer important questions surrounding the purchase of the Rave Property. They reconvened for the vote on Monday, Nov 2 (day before the election). At this meeting they dodged questions from a roomful of over 100 people (the majority were there in opposition), they deferred to Allegheny Land Trust, and after hearing again mostly opposing viewsm they voted unanimously to purchase the Rave property with ALT.
We were able to get Toby Cordek, Town manager, to state that this has nothing to do with Walmart site plans, or Walmart's need for a retention pond (as the new plan on the Rave property will have!). He said Walmart will still have to include a retention pond. WE'LL SEE.....
THE GOOD NEWS IS THE NEXT DAY PROVED THAT THREE OF THOSE COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL BE OUT IN 2016!!!!
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From October 2015:
In regard to the recent announcement that the ToM and Allegheny Land Trust have partnered to purchase the property the former Rave Cinema sits on, this is our position:
We were completely surprised by the decision to create a green
space at the Rave Cinema site since we were told by council at a
recent meeting that “we did not need any more green space,” and
then they suddenly turn around and purchase more green space.
On the other hand, we are curious that this is being done at this
particular time and can’t help wonder if the proposed
development of a mega big box adjacent to the park and ride,
may be the reason for the purchase. The developer plans to
elevate the proposed store above the floodplain. Elevating a
downstream portion of the site as planned for Walmart would
trigger higher flash flood water backup into the upstream
foodplain currently occupied by the theatre complex. By
purchasing the theatre and adjacent land, the town of
McCandless removes an obstacle for Walmart at taxpayer
expense and may create an enormous liability in terms of massive
pollution cleanup costs.
We would like to know where the township and Mr. Turzai are
acquiring the funds to purchase this land. We are anxious to hear
the details at the council meeting and open hearing on Monday
evening.
Again this is another example of the Township presenting a
done deal without any citizen input and giving citizens only 5 days
before the public hearing on the matter.
More infomation regarding the sale of the Rave Property:
Agenda- ToM Business Meeting 10/26 7:30P
ToM and ALT Press Release
Draft of Ord. 1452 - Acquisition of 26.7 acres
Blazier Drive Location
23 acres zoned commercially as C-5. A two lane road with entrances onto Ingomar and McKnight Roads. The property is adjacent to wetlands, Pine Creek, and is less than one mile from our beautiful North Park.
Brief History of the Blazier Drive Property
It is thought that the property was once part of a Native American hunting ground. Covered in dense forest, members of the Iroquois Nation returned year after year to hunt but did not have permanent villages in this area. In the early 1900’s it became a tank field that held oil tanks above and below ground. Some tanks still exist and oil spills have been known to seep up through the parking lots. (Please refer to our Environmental page for much more information about those issues) It once was home to a Golf Course, a K-Mart, a Krogers, a Bally’s, Sun Books and now a Trader Horn and a Beer Distributor are added to that ‘once was’ list.
Proposed Sale to Walmart
The property that Walmart has proposed to purchase is a 23 acre parcel which was combined for this purpose after the zoning change made to this area by McCandless Town Council. Walmart plans on installing a 150,000 square foot 24-hour Super Center that will include a grocery store, an auto center and a drive-through pharmacy.
Walmart had traffic engineers conduct studies about car traffic and congestion around the area. However those studies were done in January when North Park is not at its peak. Most of the engineers, professionals, and third parties that were brought in to conduct these studies were hired through Walmart.
Wal-Mart plans to contribute to the extending of the northbound left turn lane on McKnight Road into Pine Creek Road and replacing the signal at McKnight and Blazier. The bridges on either end are to be upgraded to accommodate delivery trucks and extra traffic. A right turn lane onto Blazier from Ingomar will be added and Blazier Drive will be widened.
