The historic building in downtown Altoona leads a new life with a food court and a luxurious apartment. It is one of several ongoing projects to revitalize the downtown area.
The former department store, McCrory’s building is located on 11th Avenue in downtown Altoona.
“The building has been abandoned since 1989,” said Christopher Cook, developer of McCrory Apartments. “So I’ve been sitting empty for over 30 years, literally.”
The Center City Market in the building has seven vendors, including restaurants, wineries and grocery stores.
Cook, a native of Altoona, said he wanted to bring life to the area.
“I think this will be a big thing for the community because there’s no such thing in this downtown neighborhood,” Cook said. “When we went up and down this corridor, there were once many eateries, but now there are only a handful, everything has recently been opened.”
The overall cost of the project is approximately $2.5 million. Cook said he took out the loan to cover most of the costs.
Center City Market’s grand opening will be on Tuesday, April 15th, but some companies will begin soft launches in early April.
