By KARA O’NEIL
Staff writer
Construction will begin in January on the next phase of the renovations at 100 Seneca in Oil City.
That was the word from Emily Lewis, executive director of the Venango County Economic Development Authority, during the panel’s final meeting of the year on Tuesday.
Lewis said the contractor is already mobilizing and setting up shop on the fifth floor at 100 Seneca, and work should be in full swing in January.
On the first floor, construction is expected to begin in February, Lewis added. She had said last month that many of the renovations on the first and fifth floors will happen simultaneously next year.
The updated schedule calls for construction to wrap up in September 2024 on the fifth floor.
On the first floor, construction is slated to finish in November 2024 with the tenant, Side Hustle Brews and Spirits, in the building during the last three months of work fitting out the space.
Venango County Commissioner Sam Breene noted that the company also recently opened the first brew pub in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, which was recently reported in an article in Bloomberg.
“Hopefully by this time next year there will be one in Dubai, one in Abu Dhabi and one in Oil City,” Breene said.
Lewis also told the economic authority members Tuesday that she has applied for several more grants for 100 Seneca.
County Commissioner Mike Dulaney thanked Lewis for her work on the 100 Seneca renovations.
“Thank you, Emily. We tasked you with not spending county money and you have pulled it off. We are now starring down the barrel of a completed building,” Dulaney said.
In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, Diona Brick, the county’s chief financial officer, said the authority is on track to finish the year on budget.
Lewis also noted the eAcademy program was suspended in August.
Since COVID, Lewis said the number of participants in the program has waned and coordinating schedules for the program with the students’ schedules proved challenging.
She added that the authority still has the curriculum for the eAcademy and would be glad to see it used.
