Sunday, September 14, 2003

By Brad Stephenson

As the owner of a Butler office building destroyed by fire in June rebuilds elsewhere, city officials are optimistic something good will come of the vacant property.

"Bill [Morgan] has a large presence within the city," Mayor Leonard Pintell said of the former Morgan Management Building's owner. "We want to see what other possible uses he can come up with for that particular property."

Morgan's current focus is on constructing a new office building in neighboring Summit.

On Monday, the township's zoning board unanimously approved a height variance that will allow Morgan Management to build the four- or five-story office building. The company owns more than eight acres at Eastland Plaza in Summit. The township's zoning laws in the area restrict commercial buildings to two stories.

"Everything is right on course," said Morgan.

Morgan's Diner, near Routes 38 and 68 in Eastland Plaza, will close today and relocate to Erie to make room for the new office building.

The 43,500-square-foot office building will feature "all the latest technology," Morgan said.

A June 27 fire gutted the former 40,000-square-foot Morgan Management Building on Brugh Avenue on Butler's south side, causing an estimated $20 million in damage and raising fears about a rippling financial impact on the city.

Many of the medical and dental practices that had space in the building have relocated outside the city. Joe Bratkovich, Butler's financial director, said previously that Butler could lose $18,000 in taxes next year and $35,000 each subsequent year.

Morgan said he was unable to rebuild in Butler because his insurance policy requires him to replace the building with one of equal or larger size, but the city's current zoning prohibits a structure that big on the property.

Summit officials said they were pleased with Morgan's decision to build in their township.

"We have nothing like it here," said John Oesterling, chairman of Summit's supervisors. "It will provide a bigger tax base for us, and it will mean a lot for the development of the township."

Oesterling said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's current reconstruction of the interchange where Routes 68, 38 and 422 meet probably helped to attract Morgan.

"I think it will be of benefit to him that he has such good access off the new [interchange]," said Oesterling.

Butler also is grappling with the possible loss of its only hospital.

But Pintell expressed confidence that the end result will be positive for the city and its residents.

"Bill is a real, true entrepreneur," he said. "If there's a way of doing something with that property, he would be the one to do it."

Brad Stephenson is a freelance writer.

E-mail this story   Print this story