The historic building is located on Wood Street, a block from WCDC’s Lohr Building development
Citizens Bank donated its former Wilkinsburg bank branch building to the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation (WCDC) for redevelopment. The more than 10,000-square-foot historic building in Wilkinsburg’s central business district was purchased by Citizens in 2001 from the Mellon National Bank and Trust Co., which operated at the location for more than 50 years.
“At Citizens, we are committed to giving back to the communities where we live and work, and this donation reflects our focus on local economic development,” said Mark Rendulic, Citizens’ Market President. “We’re excited to be contributing to the future of Wilkinsburg’s business district.”
The WCDC will work with a project team led by two individuals with backgrounds in architecture, structural engineering, and converting commercial and industrial buildings to residential uses. The proposed plan for the building includes a phased, adaptive-reuse approach focused first on critical stabilization to ensure the safety and preservation of the building; building system upgrades; and tenant improvements for both potential retail/commercial and residential tenants. In November 2022, Senator Jay Costa announced that the project was awarded a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant to support renovation work.
“We are grateful for Citizens’ strategic decision to donate their bank building to the WCDC,” said Tracey Evans, WCDC Executive Director. “This investment ensures the property’s future use will align with our community’s shared vision for our business district.” The Citizens building is a block from the Wilkinsburg Train Station and the Lohr Building, two formerly vacant buildings that have been restored in recent years by the WCDC and their project team.
The three-story, 114-year-old building was initially constructed as the Wilkinsburg Bank in 1908 and is beginning to show signs of deterioration, making the timing of this donation even more critical to the future viability of the structure. Listed for $300,000 since its closure, several ideas for the bank building have been proposed, but due to the condition of the building and rising rehabilitation costs, no plans have been able to move forward until now.
About the WCDC
Incorporated in June 2008, the WCDC works to drive economic development in Wilkinsburg with an emphasis on strengthening the central business district. The WCDC envisions Wilkinsburg will be a prosperous, healthy, and inclusive community regarded for its strong business district and neighborhoods, historic charm, convenient location, desirable quality of life, and community pride. The WCDC’s work is defined by community input, fact-based solutions, and an ongoing commitment to addressing structural barriers to economic opportunity for marginalized residents. The WCDC believes that a sustainable community embraces equity and fully integrates people from all backgrounds and races. More information is available at wilkinsburgcdc.org.
About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $224.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2022. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,300 ATMs and approximately 1,200 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
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