In the almost decade-long struggle of various entities to settle the future of St. Nicholas Church on Route 28, the latest effort comes from a preservation group that has spun off from the Preserve Croatian Heritage Foundation.

Called Friends of St. Nicholas, it has until the end of the year to raise $280,000, its fundraising goal, said Jack Schmitt, a board member of Preservation Pittsburgh.

Preservation Pittsburgh set up the account to receive donations to help purchase and restore the church, which was at the center of this nation's oldest Croatian parish when it was built in 1901. It has been closed since 2004.

The Preserve Croatian Heritage Foundation has been fundraising for eight years, but the cause of saving the church has become a preservation effort beyond ethnic and religious interests, said Mr. Schmitt.

Friends of St. Nicholas is "anxious to make an offer to the diocese before the church goes through another unheated winter season," he said.

The group has assistance from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, the Allegheny City Society and the Northside Leadership Conference. It is currently getting the building appraised and working on a feasibility study and business plan for the building's use with Partners for Sacred Places in Philadelphia, he said.

The building was imperiled by earlier plans to expand Route 28, but the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation redesigned the route in 2003 in response to protests from preservationists.

"We do need a portion of the property for the highway," said PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi, "but we have moved forward with the intention of avoiding the church."

In October, PennDOT District 11 Executive Dan Cessna said the agency did not plan to buy the church, but the agency has continued to meet with the owner. It has also met with the Friends group.

Another meeting is scheduled in early January, said Mr. Struzzi.

St. Nicholas Church was granted city historic status in 2001. The sister parish that absorbed its congregation in 1994, St. Nicholas Church in Millvale, has been maintaining the building for the Catholic Diocese.

Another group, the Croatian American Cultural and Economic Alliance, had earlier tried to buy the church but rejected diocesan conditions and the most recent asking price of $394,000. An Italian firm, the Follieri Group, courted the diocese for the building, too, but failed to complete a deal.

Tax-deductible donations with "St. Nicholas" written in the memo line may be sent to Preservation Pittsburgh, 223 Fourth Ave., Suite 800, Pittsburgh 15222.