OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) – Work continues to move forward on the Cornplanter Square Building, according to Emily Lewis, Director of the Venango County Economic Development Authority.

“We are on track to complete the demolition and abatement work by the end of October,” Lewis said. “And, we are about to begin work on the roof next week.”

Lewis said the roof work was supposed to begin in August, but there was a delay after some confusion with the contractor.

“There was a misinterpretation of the specs by the contractor,” Lewis said. “It took a few weeks to settle, but they are now ready to begin work on the roof.”

It will be a complete roof replacement and will cost around $345,000.00, according to Lewis.

Lewis also said the small fire over the summer at the building ended up not setting back the construction schedule.

“We were incredibly lucky,” Lewis said. “It was a pile of insulation that was set to be removed. It smoldered but didn’t catch fire. The Oil City Fire Department was incredibly quick in handling the situation, and everything is fine. We are pretty happy about that.”

Lewis said there isn’t a set-in-stone time frame for when the building will be ready for occupancy.

“It’s hard to say when the building will be ready,” Lewis said. “We just went out to bid on the doors and windows project. We are trying to seal up the structure.

“We are hoping to be able to start construction on the interior sooner rather than later. But, it is funding dependent. We have some grant applications out, and we have heard back from a few already.”