Old Apollo High School could come down as soon as next week

The excavators are in place, the asbestos dealt with and anything of value removed from the old Apollo High School.

All that’s holding up demolition is the weather.

Work was initially planned for this past week, but freezing weather pushed it back, said Jace Myers, president of Ford City-based Myers Demolition & Excavation.

Crews need to be able to spray water on the structure as they’re tearing it down to reduce dust plumes, he said.

The local forecast shows daytime temperatures consistently above 32 degrees for at least a week starting Saturday.

Once work begins, starting with the back of the school, “we hope to get it on the ground within a week,” Myers said.

Councilman Mark Tarle expressed full confidence in the contractor and said it’s time to get rid of the 93-year-old building.

“Everybody gets a little emotional. They went to that school — the whole bit,” Tarle said.

But, he continued, “I think once the building is actually gone, people will get a little more with the program.”

Mayor Karen Kenzevich is also looking forward to a new chapter for this parcel in the heart of town.

“It needs to come down,” she said.

The structure will take a lot of history with it.

Apollo High School was built in 1931 and operated until 1975, when the current high school opened in the Spring Church neighborhood of Kiski Township.

A section of stone commemorating the opening year is being preserved, as is the flag pole. A historical marker may be added down the line, and residents who are feeling sentimental can stop by the site and take from a pile of bricks once demolition gets underway.

In 2023, The Armstrong County Industrial Development Council purchased the former school at 400 N. Second St. and an adjacent lot where a middle school once stood for $123,000.

If all goes as planned, residents won’t have to stare at a vacant lot for long.

The county council plans to sell the parcel to Pivotal Housing Partners after the developer secures funding for a 45-unit, $18 million housing complex in the school’s footprint.

Tenants would be restricted to those with incomes of 60% or less of the county median — about $33,000 for an individual in Armstrong County or $48,000 for a family of four.

Amenities would include a playground, community room, fitness facility, outdoor seating and space for onsite management.

Parking concerns from the Apollo Zoning Hearing Board raised in October have thrown a wrench in the works.

Pivotal initially proposed around 55 parking spots, far fewer than the 90 needed to meet borough code, which calls for a 2-to-1 ratio of parking spots to tenants.

A second zoning hearing scheduled for January ended up delayed indefinitely.

Trey Barbour, Pivotal’s senior vice president of development, said last month the firm remains committed to making the project work and is actively searching for ways to add parking.

A Pivotal representative will give an update at council’s meeting on Tuesda, Tarle said.