T-L Photos/ROBERT A. DEFRANK St. Clairsville Recreation Director Eric Gay, second from left, points out coming improvements to the former Junior Fair building, which will be refurbished thanks to a grant from Unified Bank. He is joined by Scott Everson, president, chairman and CEO of Unified Bank, from left, Randy Greenwood, Unified executive vice president, chief financial and risk officer, and Mayor Kathryn Thalman.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The city’s recreation facilities soon will include an additional building, thanks to the sponsorship of Unified Bank.

Recreation Director Eric Gay said the former Junior Fair building is located adjacent to the current J.B. Martin Recreation Center on Fair Avenue and dates from the days when the Belmont County fair was held in the city 15 years ago. He said renovating the building and putting it to use has been one of his chief goals since beginning work for the city two years ago.

“With the help of Unified Bank, this is finally going to happen,” he said.

The new Unified Bank Jr. Rec. Center will add more than 7,200 square feet of indoor sports arena to the city’s already significant, all-season recreational space. The Unified Bank Jr. Rec. Center will be available to students from neighboring St. Clairsville High School, the public and private groups.

Work on the Unified Bank Jr. Rec. Center is already underway. The building has been evaluated and measured for new metal siding inside and outside. The floor area will be covered with artificial turf. Specialized lighting will be added, as will new, state-of-the-art HVAC units for year-round comfort. Signage and branding will soon be erected as well. A completion date has been set for early spring 2024.

Gay added that the building is structurally sound and has been inspected. The St. Clairsville High School football team has been assisting in cleaning it out.

“We love having that relationship with the school that we continue to have,” he said. “This dream that we had is finally going to come true. It’s a space that we desperately need. As much stuff as we’re doing here with parks and recreation, we need the space.”

Gay added that the building will be a multipurpose facility that can be used for a variety of sports, a workout room or for community events or any other activity that can be held at the J.B. Martin Recreational Center beside it.

“We are just thrilled to death that it’s finally going to happen,” Gay said. “We’re thrilled that we’re able to have this in our town, that our community members can use.”

He said the city has long had a friendly relationship with Unified Bank.

“They’ve done so much for us. I reached out to Randy (Greenwood, Unified executive vice president, chief financial and risk officer) and told him we had a project, and he jumped on board right away,” he said.

Gay said work will begin quickly and may be completed in a matter of three or four months.

“We’ll move as fast as we can go to get this operation,” he said.

He estimated the total cost of the project at $250,000 to $275,000. He said the work will be done using Unified Bank’s funding, $75,000 of a $150,000 allocation from the Ohio Capital Bill Fund and $75,000 in matching funds from the city.

Mayor Kathryn Thalman said the refurbished building will be a valuable addition.

“It will be very versatile, very useful and very needed,” she said. “I am so appreciative to our bank friends who are going to make a generous donation to fix up this Junior Fair building.”

She also commended Gay for his efforts.

“Eric has grown our activities so much, we’ve outgrown just one building,” she said. “This is going to have the capability of doing sports things, of doing rentals. We could not be more grateful.”

Scott Everson, president, chairman and CEO of Unified Bank, declined to disclose the amount of the bank’s donation. But he said the bank was excited for a chance to partner with the city. Unified Bank has two banking centers in St. Clairsville, and the bank has a goal of community involvement.

“We have a vision of creating better lives and futures for the people and communities that we proudly serve,” Everson said. “We’ve been in this valley since 1902 and we have a strong community focus, and it’s very important for us to give back.”

He spoke about the expected changes to the interior of the structure.

“They’re going to put artificial turf, batting cages, golf simulators so that we can serve the youth of the community,” he said. “We’re just thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to be part of this wonderful community project.”