Corbet Street in Tarentum to be transformed by demolition

The heart of Tarentum’s Corbet Street business district will undergo a transformation to create parking spaces in a park-like setting in the middle of town.

Borough officials voted to buy a two-story brick building at 215 Corbet, most recently home to J&G Corner Store.

The property will be demolished to open the landscape and ease traffic flow, Borough Manager Michael Nestico said.

It will be used for a small redevelopment project, he said.

The borough will pay $90,000 for the 1,500-square-foot lot and property, most recognizable for its bright red, white and blue store logo painted on the side of the building.

A closing date for the sale was not determined. The store has already closed its doors.

“The structure has several code issues and other structural concerns,” Nestico said.

The area will be redeveloped to include several parking spaces along with a minor street reconstruction project.

There will be other final touches to the area, including some beautification and “hardscaping.”

The convenience store operated from the ground floor of the corner lot for several years. Council President Scott Dadowski said the building interrupts traffic flow on Corbet because it juts into the street at Third Avenue.

“We want to demo it and put the street back to being straight,” Dadowski said.

The 200 block of Corbet Street was revitalized nearly a decade ago, Nestico said.

“The original project contemplated the demolition of this property, but the acquisition fell through,” he said. “It left us with some complications with the existing roadway. We wanted to follow up on this item, revive this project and rectify the existing concerns.”