Things are looking up for a proposed restaurant and retail space on the first floor of 100 Seneca in downtown Oil City.
The Venango County Economic Development Authority has received a grant of nearly $1.5 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission to rehabilitate the first floor of the landmark former bank building at 100 Seneca St. in Oil City.
The work is intended to create a space that tenants can design to their needs for retail, food and restaurant type ventures, Emily Lewis, executive director of the Economic Development Authority, said Friday.
She added that the authority is waiting to hear back on one more grant to have the first floor renovations fully funded, and she expects to receive that word before the end of the year.
Lewis said the authority is getting ready to solicit bids from contractors for the first floor work. The date of completion for the first floor is projected to be Sept. 30, 2024.
Breathing new life into the former bank building has been a slow multi-year process primarily funded by state, federal and private grants, Lewis said.
In February, the authority agreed to lease much of the first floor to Balmaghie Beverage Group Inc., based in Slippery Rock, for five years at a rate of $2,000 a month plus 5% of the gross revenue of beverages sold on the premises or made there and sold elsewhere.
The first floor of the building includes about 2,000 square feet of retail space and about 1,300 square feet for office space or other uses.
The common areas will be maintained by the tenant leasing the space at no cost to the authority, and the tenant will be responsible for paying the utilities.
Jeff Karns, the proprietor for Balmaghie Beverage Group, has said he plans primarily to have a distillery at 100 Seneca with a one to two barrel brewery in the building.
