By Paula Grubbs

Eagle Staff Writer

ZELIENOPLE — The Kaufman House could be open by the spring of 2017.

Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau and its foundation, announced Thursday the foundation recently closed the deal on the historic Main Street restaurant and hotel.

He said 4-Most Architects in Butler is drawing up plans for the renovations to the building, which originally opened in 1902. It closed in 2011 after a kitchen fire.

Cohen said the architectural focus will be to return the building to its original, turn-of-the-century grandeur. Tin ceilings, crown molding, historical lighting and color schemes are some of the features that will grace the building.

The foundation will own the building, and lease it to a tenant who will operate it, Cohen said. That tenant has not yet been selected.

As previously announced, Butler County Community College will provide internship opportunities at the Kaufman House to culinary arts and hospitality management students.

“The purchase of the Kaufman House is really a game changer in terms of economic development in Butler County,” Cohen said.

“The project will be completed exclusively by Butler County-based contractors and once it’s back up and operating, it will continue to build on the county’s workforce development by offering hospitality programs and internships within its state-of-the-art kitchen.”

He said the estimated cost to renovate the building is more than $2 million.

“We want to restore it back into a boutique hotel of that (early 1900s) time period,” Cohen said.

Work could begin in April or May, and finish in the first quarter of 2017, Cohen said.

He said while the restaurant part of the building was used until the 2011 fire, the hotel portion has not been used since the 1970s, when the workers building the Beaver Valley Power Station nuclear plant in Shippingport stayed there.

Zelienople Councilman Mary Hess is thrilled the Kaufman House will return. She said the timing is perfect because a new municipal parking lot is being built behind the building.

“It has had such a strong impact on our business district because the Kaufman House was the key building in the community,” Hess said. “So many people associate Zelienople with the Kaufman House.”

Hess stressed that contrary to some rumors, the Kaufman House will be a regular business and not a cooking school.

She said the more eateries a town has, the more shoppers it will attract.

“It’s just wonderful,” Hess said of the plans.

Cohen agreed the project will be good for Zelienople, saying the development of communities is part of the tourism bureau’s mission.

“We think it’s a wonderful thing for the community,” Cohen said.

“We’re glad to get it back up and running.”