MVI Awarded $107,562 to Revitalize 5th Street Place, Charleroi
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2026
Pennsylvania Main Street Matters grant funding will support Mon Valley Initiative commercial space’s rehabilitation, climate-control upgrades for 12 affordable senior apartments, and elevator improvements at a key anchor building in downtown Charleroi.
Mon Valley Initiative’s Charleroi satellite office at 5th Street Place in Charleroi. Part of the Main Street Matters funding will go toward the rehabilitation of another commercial unit in the building on 5th Street.
CHARLEROI, PA — Mon Valley Initiative (MVI) has been awarded $107,562 through Pennsylvania’s Main Street Matters program to fund the final phase of improvements to 5th Street Place, a mixed-use anchor building in the heart of Charleroi’s historic business district. MVI has owned the building since 2018, and the grant will allow the organization to complete a set of long-planned upgrades that will benefit both the surrounding commercial corridor and the affordable senior residents who call the building home.
The grant, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), was announced by Governor Josh Shapiro on May 26, 2026, as part of a statewide $17.2 million investment in 56 community projects. Since the program’s creation, Main Street Matters has awarded more than $34 million to 137 projects across the Commonwealth.
5th Street Place currently houses MVI’s satellite office and 12 affordable apartments for senior residents served by an elevator. The funded project will address three interconnected needs, including the rehabilitation of the building’s remaining vacant commercial unit, installation of new air handling units in each of the 12 senior apartments to improve climate control, and upgrades to the building’s elevator to improve reliability. Together, these improvements represent the completion of a multi-year investment in the property totaling more than $600,000.
The commercial rehabilitation component, the most substantial portion of the grant-funded work, will prepare a 3,600-square-foot ground-floor retail space for lease.
“We are extremely grateful for this support from Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development. This is an important building that provides much needed affordable housing for seniors, and following the rehabilitation of the commercial unit, an affordable space that a new business tenant can use,” said Mark Child, MVI Real Estate Director. “With the current economic challenges facing main street businesses, taking on the cost of this rehabilitation is not viable for prospective tenants, so we’re delighted to be able to build-out this unit in readiness for a new occupant and to bring more activity to downtown Charleroi.”
The project aligns with the highest-ranking priorities identified in the 2018 Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan for Mon Valley Communities, which called for redevelopment in downtown Charleroi, the attraction of new businesses to the mid-Mon Valley, and expanded mixed-use and senior housing options. A lack of quality, move-in-ready commercial space in the borough has historically discouraged new businesses from locating downtown, and the rehabilitation of this anchor property is intended to help address that gap.
The Main Street Matters funding is matched 50% by part of a grant from the Hillman Foundation, and covers the remaining gap needed to move the project forward. The project was also strongly supported by state and local officials, as well as various local stakeholders who partner with MVI in Charleroi.
Once the commercial unit is leased, the rental income will support MVI’s continued operation of the 12 affordable senior apartments on the upper floors and its Workforce Development & Financial Coaching program, which operates daily out of MVI’s offices in Charleroi and Homestead, enrolling more than 6,200 participants since 2000.
About Mon Valley Initiative
Mon Valley Initiative (MVI), founded in 1988, works to improve the lives of people in the Mon Valley area by helping to rebuild community infrastructure, provide safe and affordable housing, and connect employers to people seeking new jobs and careers. We do this by delivering quality services to the people of the Mon Valley, including housing counseling, workforce development and financial coaching, real estate development, and community development. For more information about MVI’s programs, click here.
Media Contact
Grant Cole, Communications & External Relations Manager
412-464-4000 ext. 4024, gcole@monvalleyinitiative.com
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