Standing atop the decaying old tiles of the Woolworth's store at Gay and High Streets, local officials and the two businessmen lauded the redevelopment as evidence that retail is alive and well in the county seat.
"When I first came to this job, I was told, 'You're walking into a snake pit. The town is dead,' " said Dallas Matthews, executive director of the West Chester Area Chamber of Commerce.
"Everybody is looking forward to bringing this town back to where it should be and can be," he said. "This place is a jewel waiting to be polished."
Before an enthusiastic crowd, Stancato and Abdala, both of West Chester, unveiled renovation plans by in-house architect Fred Pier.
Using the colonnade relief that runs along the long brick facade on High Street as a guide, the half-million-dollar project will turn the building into four retail spaces: one of 4,000 square feet, one of 925 square feet, and two of 1,800 square feet each.
The two partners - who own Prudential Stancato Realtors, Total Construction Inc., Ashbridge Construction Inc., Walnut Abstract, and Diversified Improvements Inc. - had been looking for additional business space and had outgrown their main office at North Walnut and Gay streets. They will create a small reception area downstairs and will use the entire second floor for office space.
The purchase and subsequent renovation project is also a victory for Commerce Director Peggy Dawson Schmidt, who was hired by the Borough Council seven months ago to help rejuvenate West Chester and lure new business. Although no tenants have been secured for the four units yet, Dawson Schmidt said several retailers had expressed interest.
Abdala and Stancato said types of uses that have been suggested include clothing retailers, a bakery, a bank, a specialty store, and even a microbrewery, which was proposed by restaurateur Jack McFadden last year.
Stancato said he would love to bring in a bookstore, adding: "We're looking at stores that would bring the university trade uptown."
Much of the brick on the High Street side will be replaced with glass, but Stancato said he hoped to maintain the imprinted-pattern ceiling molding in the renovations. "We're going to work with the building, not against it," he said.
The process of filling one of West Chester's largest retail spots has been arduous because the owners of the building - the Louis Harris Estate - had wanted to rent it out, not sell it.
"I guess an out-of-towner could do it just as well, but they probably wouldn't have the same passion to put into it," Stancato said.
Borough officials - including Mayor Clifford DeBaptiste and Council President Betty Loper, and council members Shannon Royer and Ann Carroll - were on hand to celebrate the good news for West Chester.
"We want to see this corner busy," said Loper.
