Former Mon Valley bank reopens as startup incubator

A shuttered bank branch in the Mon Valley has reopened as a nonprofit hub for small businesses and entrepreneurs, thanks to a new partnership fueled by a charitable gift in the form of a hefty real estate discount.

The Mon Valley Business Resource Center — now open in the former Community Bank branch on Main Street in Monongahela — aims to help expedite economic growth and revitalization across the region.

The center will provide meeting space, digital production tools and a wide range of consulting and networking opportunities for those in expanding or struggling companies while serving as an incubator for start-ups and budding business ideas. The building also will house the headquarters for the nonprofit Mon Valley Alliance and its foundation.

“The business landscape is changing everywhere — which is why we are supporting initiatives like the (Mon Valley) Business Resource Center that will create a more collaborative and cooperative workforce in southwestern Pennsylvania,” said John H. Montgomery, president and CEO of Community Bank. “Our commitment to building a stronger community throughout the entire region is perfectly aligned with Mon Valley Alliance’s industrial, business and community development strategies.”

The effort was spurred by Community Bank selling the branch building to the nonprofit Mon Valley Alliance at below-market price. The property was valued at an estimated $280,000, and the corporation sold it to the Alliance for just $50,000, resulting in a charitable contribution of $230,000.

“The Mon Valley Alliance is extremely grateful to Community Bank for their investment in our organization,” said Ben Brown, CEO of Mon Valley Alliance. “Community Bank has been a leader in this region for decades. Their support of the Mon Valley Business Resource Center is just another example of their leadership, which will enable us to significantly expand our economic development services in the Mon Valley community.”

At an event celebrating the new center Friday afternoon, Brown touted its opening as a “historic day in the Valley.” He was joined Community Bank representatives and dignitaries, including state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, and state Rep. Bud Cook, R-Daisytown and Monongahela Mayor Greg Garry.

Though the center has opened its doors, several renovation projects still are in the works, including adding conference and training rooms and building a hotel-style lobby for business meetings. Future plans include designing a media room for video and audio production, and building outdoor areas for meeting and networking along the building’s exterior.

The Mon Valley Alliance was formed in 2016 with the merger of two longtime economic development organizations whose roots dated back to the 1960s, the Mon Valley Progress Council and Middle Monongahela Industrial Development Association. It aims to get industry, business and communities to work together to improve the region. The Alliance’s programs include small business loan and grant assistance, the rehabilitation of dilapidated properties and the eradication of blight.

The newly opened Mon Valley Resource Center is located the former Community Bank branch office at 235 W. Main St. in Monongahela.