26-04-2025
Lt. Gov. Davis visits Meadville, highlights downtown improvement grants
Main streets matter in Meadville and other communities across Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said during a stop in Meadville on Friday morning.
'While Pennsylvania's downtowns and main streets are often windows into our past, Gov. Shapiro and I believe they can be the engines for the future,' Davis said.
Davis visited Meadville to highlight and tour downtown as more than $560,000 in state Main Street Matters grant funds were recently awarded to two Meadville projects.
The grants are part of 81 community grants statewide announced on April 7. There are three for Crawford County — two in Meadville and one in Titusville.
The city of Meadville was awarded $560,027 toward structural and roof repairs at the historic Market House.
Meadville Community Revitalization Corp. was awarded a $16,875 planning grant for the feasibility of affordable residential housing on the upper floors of commercial buildings in the Chestnut Street business district.
The Greater Titusville Development Foundation was awarded $60,500 for the downtown Titusville building facade improvement program.
Investing in downtown areas is a smart investment, Davis said, citing statistics from the National Main Street Center.
'The National Main Street Center found that over a 5-year period, investing in a main street creates, on average, 19 businesses and 165 new jobs in a community,' Davis said. 'And for every dollar the Commonwealth invests in main streets, we get nearly an $8 dollar return on that investment. That's a good deal.'
Pennsylvania's Main Street program has bipartisan support in Harrisburg.
'Good things happen when leaders take off their red jerseys and their blue jerseys put on the Pennsylvania jersey to move our communities forward,' Davis said.
The Market House, which dates from 1870, is key to the city's downtown, according to city officials.
'For 155 years, this market house has been here as a symbol of togetherness and community,' Menanno said. 'We're so happy we're able to invest the money we need to make it stable for another 155 years.'
Ashley Mattocks-Rose, chair of Meadville Market Authority, which oversees Market House, said it was exciting to get the roof project moving forward.
The building is a symbol of the stories of the people of Meadville — and a core memory for all that spans generations, according to Mattocks-Rose.
'The Market House is for life living here in Meadville,' she said. 'It is the heart of our downtown.'
The $560,027 state grant will pay for the bulk of the repairs to the building's roof structure and the installation of a new composite slate roof. The total project is estimated at $677,990 with the city to use around $118,000 from its capital project fund.
For the past few years, Meadville has been working toward roof replacement. Repairs have been done and a 2023 architectural assessment determined the roof needed replacement within three to five years. However, a 2024 engineering assessment found the roof support system was in poor condition, which potentially could result in significant damage from an unbalanced snow load.
The project is expected to be designed with work to be done this year, Menanno said.
Meadville Community Revitalization Corp.'s feasibility study on affordable upper-story housing downtown is also expected to be done this year, Andy Walker, executive director of the new nonprofit group, said.
The $16,875 planning grant will help fund a review of buildings on the north side of Chestnut Street between Park Avenue and Water Street. The study will explore issues and costs of converting upper-floor spaces to residential units, including building code requirements, floor levels and size, and accessibility options.
'This grant is more than just dollars — it's momentum,' Walker said. 'It's an opportunity to breathe new life into historic buildings and bring more people into the downtown.
The $16,875 grant for the feasibility study will be matched with a similar amount from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Walker said.
