The Greater Washington County Food Bank is selling its property at 903-909 National Pike W. in Centerville for $3.55 million and preparing to move its main distribution center to the former Crown Center mall location in North Franklin. [Mike Jones]
The Greater Washington County Food Bank is selling its property in Centerville and preparing to move its main distribution center to the former Crown Center mall location in North Franklin.
Last week, the food bank listed for sale its 24,500-square-foot building at 903-909 National Pike W. that is surrounded by nearly 26 acres of land, with an asking price of $3.55 million.
Food bank President and CEO George Omiros said Wednesday the organization is negotiating a lease at the newly rebranded Franklin Crossroads to move into a nearly 30,000-square-foot area in the back of the old mall where Jo-Ann Fabric and the Toffee House once were located. The move to North Franklin Township just two miles from the heart of Washington will give the food bank a more centralized location with easy access to Interstates 70 and 79 to improve distribution and lessen travel time for volunteers, he said.
“It will be much better suited for our needs and our volunteers’ needs,” Omiros said. “We’ll have better access for our volunteers around Washington and Canonsburg.”
He said they are negotiating what will likely be a 10-year lease at Franklin Crossroads with the option of purchasing that section of the property after two years. Omiros added that they are working on the “finishing touches” now and will have a phased move-in that should be completed by the end of the year with an official grand opening planned for late winter or early spring.
Omiros said they decided to move away from Centerville due to its location, along with the cost to maintain the building and manage the farm on the property. The thrift shop inside the building had already been closed recently as it was only “breaking even” with concerns it could soon begin losing money.
“Centerville was not necessarily the best place to put a food bank,” he said. “Having the facility there, it was hard to have a food bank the way it was set up. … The ground wasn’t made for farming and (they) couldn’t scale it up, and it cost more to run the farm than raise money for food. We’re not in the business of managing property and farms.”
The ability to move was helped in part with the decision by the Washington County commissioners in June to return $325,000 of state-allocated financial aid back to the local food bank after county officials had redirected that money to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank for the previous six years.
Omiros added the new property is more centralized to serve the six monthly pantry distribution sites currently listed on the food bank’s website, which include locations in Avella, California, Hickory, Marianna, Venetia and West Alexander.
“We needed a better location to serve all the pantries we’re serving,” Omiros said. “We will save money there.”
The Greater Washington County Food Bank and Food Helpers will also continue to operate a second location with its offices and the “snack packing program” at the CNX building in Southpointe, as it has for the past three years.
The Centerville location is being listed for sale by SVN-Three Rivers Commercial Advisors of Pittsburgh. The listing touts 24,500 square feet in floor space with four loading docks and a detached five-bay maintenance garage on 25.7 acres of land. The commercially zoned property also includes a two-bedroom, single-family house and a solar farm that generates about $140,000 in annual revenue, the listing states.
Dining and Cooking