Historic Main St Redevelopment

In February 2020, Rice Pegher acquired 106 N Main St, a historic mixed-use asset located in the central business district of Zelienople, PA. The property comprises 6,891 square feet of commercial space and two apartments.

The Zehner Building, as it’s known locally, was built in 1896 and in recent years had only been occupied on the ground floor with the remaining commercial floors left vacant. The building is prominently located on the walkable Main St of Zelie, and was a great candidate for a full redevelopment to maximize its utility for the community. We pursued the owner directly and secured the asset off-market.

The building required significant redevelopment, and to achieve the level of quality and historical characteristics we required for the asset, the construction period occurred over two years. Although the redevelopment took longer than anticipated, we were able to sign tenants on a rolling basis starting just over a year into the project in April of 2021.

Improvements to the building included significant foundational and structural work that raised the levels of each floor by over a foot to level, installing an elevator, full facade upgrade and new window package, custom milled trim work to match the remaining historical trim, new MEP throughout, and renovated interiors of commercial and residential spaces.

We persevered through the extended construction period and fully stabilized the building after two years. At this time during June of 2022, we rolled 106 N Main St into a larger portfolio refinance that illustrated a 38% increase in valuation of the asset.