SHARON, Pa. – Demolition of the majority of the old Sharon Tube mill building will open what the co-owners of JCL Development see as the best riverfront property in the city.

The property, which JCL acquired in August, is one of more than 60 sites the developer is in the process of rehabilitating or demolishing, with an eye on promoting community rather than industrial development.

“Projects are on every front,” said Jim Landino, who co-owns JLC Development with his wife, Jen Krezeczowski. “You can’t drive through downtown Sharon right now and not notice something that’s happening.”

The old hot mill building is being torn down to open access to the Shenango River and about 20 acres of land along its banks, Landino said. The wastewater treatment plant is gone, and the old mill building is skinned down to the structural steel. He described the purchase of the property as “defensive and organic from the standpoint of we really wanted to get back to that river. It is a tremendous property.”

The Shenango River is among Sharon’s greatest assets, and demolition of the mill “is a pivotal step” in unlocking the riverfront’s potential, according to Angie Urban, executive director of Sharon Community Development Corp.

“By clearing this site, the opportunity arises to not only revitalize the riverbank but also to open up valuable real estate for both commercial and residential development,” she said.

“Stop trying to convince residents to fall for a place that’s hard to love. Focus on making your place easy to love, and residents will respond,” Landino said.

‘A Thriving Downtown Environment’

JCL Development’s principals are “absolutely interested in what it takes to make this a thriving downtown environment” that encourages foot traffic, with pedestrians shopping and dining, Landino said. For more than a decade, the company has pursued community involvement and development rather than businesses involving trucks and smokestacks.

“We’re trying to be less of a transactional place where people just come and get their stuff and go more to a relational place where you want to spend time,” Krezeczowski said.

“I don’t think the community understands that industrial development in Sharon – in downtown Sharon in particular – is a bad idea, and has been a bad idea,” Landino said.

“Heavy industry was once the backbone of Sharon’s economy, shaping its history and identity for generations. However, the signs are increasingly pointing to a shift – one that embraces a new era of growth and revitalization,” Urban said.

“Sharon is undergoing a Renaissance, where the focus is shifting away from traditional manufacturing and toward a vibrant, diversified economy,” she continued. “Today, the heart of Sharon’s transformation is centered in its downtown, where the emphasis is on dining, shopping and creating experiential opportunities for residents and visitors alike.”

Creating an Identity

Landino said there are things that are “crazily” on the mind of his wife and business partner.

“We bought a rock-climbing wall the other day. It’s mobile,” he said. “I said, ‘Jen, let’s find out if there’s anybody here that wants to climb rocks.” Similarly, when they decided years ago to put a giant coffee mug on the roof of what was Lulu Bean’s Café and now is the Block, by Nova Destinations, it was “kind of like putting a flag on the ground,” he said. 

“We could put fun, whimsical stuff, whether it’s murals, cups on this, on the roofs, things like that that make people want to come to town and have their kids say, ‘Mom, I want to go in that town where they have that polka dot cup on the roof,’” he said.

Among the areas where JCL Development is focusing is the Penn State Shenango campus corridor, where JCL is building a 50,000-square-foot recreation center, Landino said. The company also is redeveloping the former Jolley Industrial building as Jolley River Apartments, a 20-unit project getting underway in 2025, and moving the Evolve gym into that area as well.

“We’re trying to give an identity to the town, and the flats is a really great opportunity to identify it with sports and young professionals,” said Nicole Dinsmore, director of operations and business development for JCL Development. “Penn State is a corridor that helps us get there.”

Landino said the campus has added up to 10 sports.

“Jolley is going to be a big asset,” Krezeczowski said. “It’s a really cool building.”

Housing

Apartments also are planned at the former Sharon Hotel, which JCL acquired and is planning to build a new elevator shaft and stairwell, according to Landino. New windows are being installed at the adjacent Harmony Building.

“We ask people all the time what would you like to see in town, and we get a lot of feedback,” Krezeczowski said. “Housing is a big one.” People lease apartments for perhaps a year – which she acknowledges “may be not what you look for as a landlord” – but end up buying houses and staying in the community.

“It’s catalyzing, this return of the younger people. They feel like they have something fresh and modern to come back to before they get their forever homes,” she remarked.  

“The push for us is really to get this to become a thriving community again,” Landino said.

Lending a Hand

On the commercial side, JCL looks at what needs there might be downtown, Krezeczowski said. A lot also depends on “who we run into” and what ideas that individual might have.

“I call it incubating – getting somebody that really has a solid business plan but doesn’t have the resources to go all in and buy a building and do that kind of stuff, so we’re grabbing it by the hand,” Landino said.

An example of that approach was Krezeczowski providing such assistance to entrepreneur Kerri Rickard, who opened ReLoved in one of JCL’s buildings.

“She upcycles clothing, but it’s in an artistic and creative way,” Krezeczowski said.

Landino and Krezeczowski look for people who are involved with something different, are passionate about the community and “give the same type of energy that they have for it and incubate it,” Dinsmore said.

“And people stay,” she continued. “That’s the goal. We want people to live in the Valley permanently. Sharon is a really great spot to incubate it, to make it a desirable place to stay.”

Projects Underway

Commercial projects underway include repurposing the former Billy’s Black and Gold for use by Fastenal, a global supplier of industrial products. The company, which Landino said plans to move into the Sharpsville Avenue space in February, is so impressed with the work being done that it plans to feature the property in an upcoming brochure, Krezeczowski said.

The company will use the building for distribution and as a regional sales office and training center, Landino said.

“It’s stunning on the inside and will be stunning on the outside shortly,” he said. 

In earlier discussions, Fastenal representatives hadn’t been as concerned with the building’s appearance and said they didn’t “need it to look that good,” Landino recalled. He countered that they didn’t recognize how many people drive past the building every day, including him.

“And we want to look at something that really looks great,” he said. Other tenants also are grateful that JCL goes “the extra mile to make it that special.”

This year, JCL also sold the former Noise Solutions building on Vine Avenue to Joy Cone.

“We thought it’s as good as we could get, and we needed them in Sharon as they are the largest employer in the county,” Landino said.

Though JCL has received some grant funds in recent years – it was awarded $220,000 in American Rescue Plan funds in April for the Armory building and 98 E. State St., and $450,000 to develop student housing with Hudson Companies , for example – JCL largely has self-funded its projects.

‘Not a Business Venture’

Landino sold Sunbelt Transformer Inc. a decade ago, diverting much of those funds to the Sharon properties he has acquired and repurposed. More recently, he sold part of JCL Energy, a transformer company he launched about five years ago, to Allied Industrial Partners LLC, a private equity firm based in Houston, which is helping drive his current wave of investment, he acknowledged.    

“It’s not a business venture,” Krezeczowski said.

The Sharon Tube site already has received approval for commercial redevelopment, and if an anticipated Act 2 clearance comes through from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, JCL Development would have “carte blanche” for the property, including potential residential development. He said he expects to know by early summer 2025 whether the site gets the Act 2 approval.

“Act 2 is really interesting because it guarantees the ability to actually develop a property. It also gives you the ability to finance it, and that’s a big deal,” he said. “Some of these properties just aren’t financeable.”

JCL Development has been “an invaluable partner in the revitalization of Sharon,” Urban said. The company’s commitment to “thoughtful, sustainable development” and “deep investment in our community is reshaping the landscape of our city,” she added.

Landino acknowledged much of the work being done will be appreciated by future generations. Or at least he hopes it will, he said.

“I’d like to think, man, that means something to somebody,” he said. “It’s not always very easy. I know we’re doing it for the betterment of everybody. I know we are because I don’t know why else we’d do it.”

Pictured at top: Jim Landino, co-owner of JCL Development, at the former Sharon Tube property.