Corbet Street market to be demolished by fall to make way for parking, green space

Corbet Street in Tarentum is expected to have a new look by fall with the demolition of a two-story building that was home for many years to a corner market.

Borough officials on June 23 closed on the purchase of 215 Corbet, the two-story red brick building that is noticeable partly because the corner at Third Avenue doesn’t align properly with the rest of the street.

“It kind of sticks out, and we’d love to get that straightened out in time for our holiday parade,” council President Scott Dadowski said.

The borough paid $90,000 for the 1,500-square-foot lot and property that was formerly the J&G Corner Store.

Tawnya Panizzi | Tribune-Review

The property at 215 Corbet St. in Tarentum was purchased by the borough and will be demolished by fall.

Dadowski expects bids for demolition to be requested in the coming weeks.

Council member Carrie Fox said the borough is working hard to move the process along as quickly as possible.

“This is something that council and past councils have wanted for a long time,” she said.

Tearing it down will ease traffic flow and also open up the space for the possibility of a quasi-park for businesspeople. Several parking spaces will be added.

“What will go there is still preliminary,” Dadowski said. “I’d love to see parking with the addition of benches, shrubbery and more of a green space for people who work in that area.”

One thing that will not replace the J&G Corner Store is another building.

“We want to open it up and have it be more than bricks and asphalt,” Dadowski said.

Council has been discussing the project for nearly a decade, when the 200 block of Corbet Street originally was revitalized.

Fox said she is happy to see the work finally going through.

“This will create a new look for Corbet and make this part of our community a much-improved area for all,” she said.