The Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry took on the project several years ago when most of the building was in rough shape.

Now, the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College is the prime tenant.

And funding is in place to complete most of the remaining renovation next year.

The WCCBI was approached by the Educational Consortium of the Upper Allegheny, NPRC’s predecessor, and “presented with the opportunity to create a facility to house this new regional community college,” Jim Decker, WCCBI president/CEO said at this year’s Celebration of Excellence Gala. “They made a big commitment to do that.”

Photo courtesy of Warren County Historical Society The Warren National Bank is under construction in this 1904 photo provided by the Warren County Historical Society.

“Our board of directors made a huge investment and a huge commitment to make that happen,” Decker said. “It’s working better than we expected it to.”

He said that a total of $1.6 million in state and federal grant dollars has been allocated for work on the building slated for next year.

That will include HVAC, roof and exterior repairs as well as “completely redoing most of the third and second floor.

That would put the Chamber a “gnats eye away from having that building totally redeveloped” by the end of 2024.

“It’s been blood, sweat and tears by a whole bunch of people,” Decker said, calling it a “cornerstone building” that “reflects our heritage as a community.”

The building dates to 1904 when it was built as the headquarters for the Warren National Bank.

Until the WCCBi bought the property in 2018, it had been known as the PNC Building.

In addition to the NPRC, Warren County’s only co-working facility, Innovault, opened in Feb. 2022.