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Remodel or replace? Johnstown considers 'way overdue' options for nearly century-old Public Safety Building
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – As the Johnstown Public Safety Building closes in on the centennial anniversary of its dedication, the structure appears headed toward one of two fates over the coming years.
City officials expect to either rehabilitate the facility to make it a clean, modern and structurally sound home for the police and fire departments. Or the structure could be rejected, razed and replaced with a brand-new building somewhere else in the city.
Johnstown City Council's ultimate decision about what to do will, in large part, come down to money.
A rehab is estimated to cost $10 million or more. Constructing a new building would likely top $20 million.
Right now, Johnstown has $5 million for the project – $2.5 million apiece in federal American Rescue Plan Act for COVID-19 pandemic relief money and in state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant funding.
'One of the drawbacks we have there is the funding stack,' Johnstown City Manager Art Martynuska said. 'We have a little, but not enough to do even a remodel.'
Public Safety Building | Downtown Johnstown
Public Safety Building on Washington Street in downtown Johnstown on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
The building, 401 Washington St., was constructed and equipped at an approximate cost of $500,000, according to a Johnstown Tribune article from 1926.
Work was done throughout 1925 – the year carved in stone on the front of the building – and 1926. It was formally dedicated Dec. 16, 1926.
Sine then, the building has served as home to the fire and police departments that have protected city and regional residents in day-to-day times of need and during major events such as the 1936 and 1977 floods.
But the building is now in disrepair.
In recent years, the city has done mold remediation, water-proofing of the basement with new drains and sump pumps, and HVAC improvements to make it 'a little bit of a safer facility,' as Martynuska said.
'That's what we've been doing – patching it,' Johnstown City Councilman Ricky Britt said. 'Patches here, patches there. After a while, you don't have anywhere to put a patch. You can only patch it so many times.'
Britt said 'the old building has served its use' and 'that the project there is way overdue.'
'We've definitely got our usage out of it,' Britt said. 'Hopefully we find the proper location and come up with the right amount of funds to build a new building.'
Britt is among a group of city officials who support a new structure. That would involve finding a site, possibly dealing with floodplain issues in the downtown, and likely needing to knock down the current building so it does not become yet another vacant property in the municipality.
Others, including City Councilwoman Laura Huchel, favor upgrading and modernizing the existing structure.
'I feel and think, based on some contributions from the planning commission, that the Public Safety Building can be rehabbed and retrofitted to be exactly what Johnstown needs out of a public safety building,' Huchel said. 'It's a very large building. It's more than we need for our current staff, so there are some rental opportunities there if we make it a welcoming space.
'The expense of doing that, while significant, does not even approach the expense of creating a brand-new building and then being faced with needing to demolish the old one.'
