McKeesport officials have a tentative agreement to buy the Sky Bank building at Fifth Avenue and Sinclair Street.

The purchase, which would be completed with no down payment and with a 10-year mortgage, would allow the city to consolidate its offices and save money on rent. Mayor James Brewster would not disclose the purchase price because negotiations are continuing.

Currently, 35 city employees, not including firefighters and police officers, work either in the municipal building on Lysle Boulevard on the fringe of town or in space rented for $110,000 a year in the Peoples Building a block away, between Lysle and Fifth.

Firefighters and police officers would continue to work in the municipal building.

Besides consolidating offices, the move to the two-story Sky Bank building would push forward city officials' plan to re-establish a central core for McKeesport, city Administrator Dennis Pittman said.

"Many towns get a focal point, or anchor. In our case, the move of city hall [will create] that destination point," Pittman said. "And the ability to park as near by city hall as possible becomes crucial."

The planned move also is expected to complement developer Barry Stein's effort to revitalize Midtown Plaza Mall, a set of buildings between Sixth Avenue and Lysle Boulevard.

"Like any shopping center, you need to have an anchor. We need to have an anchor there," Pittman said, noting that the relocated city hall would help serve that purpose.

McKeesport would occupy about 60 percent of the Sky Bank building and rent the remaining 40 percent. The building now has tenants.

Brewster said he expected rents to cover the cost of buying the structure. He added the move would save money by avoiding repairs on the deteriorating municipal building.

"[The purchase] is something I wanted to do to give people more accessibility to city hall," he said. "And I also wanted to do it to get out of a deteriorating structure."

Sky Bank plans to build a building between Fifth Avenue and Lysle Boulevard, near McKeesport Hospital. The bank will consolidate four branches, including the McKeesport branch, in the new building.

Pittman said city officials were waiting to hear from Sky Bank regarding its final design plans.

He expects the bank and the city to complete their moves this year.