Lamar Advertising Inc. is poised to buy the historic St. Nicholas Church property in Troy Hill. The Diocese of Pittsburgh yesterday announced a sales agreement with the billboard advertising firm.

A price was not disclosed. "We haven't finalized," said the Rev. Daniel W. Whalen, administrator of the parish, which is based in Millvale. Closing should be within a month, he said.

The announcement comes days before a preservation group intends to unveil its plans for the church property's reuse and the studies that say the plans are feasible. The nonprofit Preserve Croatian Heritage proposes a mid-sized immigration museum with trails that connect to the riverfront trail system, said Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference, which is managing the museum project.

The group will present its plans and cost projections at 10 a.m. Friday at the Penn Brewery at Troy Hill and Vinial streets.

In a news release yesterday, the diocese said that Lamar "intends to use the land at the site to erect billboards." Lamar spokesmen could not be reached to clarify whether this means the company wants to raze the property.

Since the building has city historic landmark status, a demolition request would have be approved by the city's Historic Review Commission and City Council.

Mr. Fatla said "viable reuse" for the property should be further argument against demolition.

Previous ideas for use of the building were either too ethnically specific or religion-based. It needed to appeal to "a broader base" to be marketable, said Mr. Fatla.

"The church was often the first focus of immigrants," whether Croatian or another ethnicity, he said. "An immigration museum seems like a natural fit."

Lamar's interest is to secure a site for its billboards. Its presence along Route 28 has been threatened by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation efforts to condemn billboards on state rights of way. Lamar recently filed preliminary objections to PennDOT's declaration of taking by eminent domain in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

The site of the oldest Croatian congregation in America, the church was closed by the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2004 and has been a contested property since.

PennDOT was planning to demolish it for road expansion but changed its design last year after neighborhood residents, preservation groups and former congregants raised an uproar.

In 2003, the Croatian American Cultural and Economic Alliance raised money to buy the church, but the parish was asking $394,000, which the group could not afford. The property includes a rectory and hillside grotto.

The alliance tried again in 2005, offering $150,000 and agreeing to pay another $100,000 for the religious artifacts. That deal fell through because the diocese insisted on a clause that would prohibit the group from selling alcohol on the property -- a death sentence for the alliance's fundraising efforts.

Meanwhile, Preserve Croatian Heritage kept alive its hopes of finding investors to retool the church for tourism. One early idea was a Saint Nicholas Museum, honoring the namesake of the secular Santa Claus.

Two years ago, the diocese had a sales agreement fall through with Italian businessman Raffaello Follieri. He was later arrested on real estate fraud charges filed in U.S. District Court in New York.

Meanwhile, for 15 years, the St. Nicholas Parish in Millvale has been saddled with the property's upkeep. Father Whalen said the parish "has poured $500,000 into that church" since the two congregations were combined in 1994.

"We would support [demolition], but that's [Lamar's] decision," said Father Whalen. "We will get out from under the financial drain. This is what I thought was our best option."

Mr. Fatla said he hopes to work with Lamar on a plan that would accommodate tourism and benefit Lamar's business.

"I feel very hopeful," said Jack Schmitt, a member of Preserve Croatian Heritage. "The diocese has made some interesting sales agreements in the past. This is a process, and we have been less far along than we are now."

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