CCBC Makes Historic Land Purchase to Accommodate Future Growth

Monaca, Pa. –Community College of Beaver County has formally acquired nearly 13 acres of land adjacent to the main campus in Center Township. While future plans for the land have yet to be determined, the overarching goal is to grow the campus, including increasing enrollment and expanding services for students and the community.

“This is an exciting time of change and growth for the College, especially as we approach our 50th anniversary,” CCBC President Dr. Chris Reber said. “This land will be very important to our future and I’m currently in discussions with colleagues and College Trustees regarding possible futures uses of the land.”

The newly purchased land is situated on 12.5 acres adjacent to the College on Poplar Avenue and Brodhead Road. It is the last parcel of undeveloped land contiguous with the property CCBC’s main campus already occupies.

“The land purchase allows CCBC to grow to serve the community without having to relocate,” Frank Mancini, Jr., a joint-seller of the property, said. “This piece of land could also provide direct access from Brodhead Road to the College campus. I’m anxious to see what happens.”

While the land has always been in the Mancini family, the Mancini/Mancine families also share a long history with CCBC. The first land purchase CCBC made in 1967 was the 100-acre Mancini property where the main campus currently resides. The 100-acre property was originally owned by four brothers, Flavion Mancini, Pete Mancini, Americo Mancini and Frank Mancini. CCBC purchased this Mancini property after a site selection process due to its ideal location in the heart of Beaver County. In 1971, the college moved from its temporary classrooms in Freedom to the permanent 100-acre site in Center Township.

“As far as I know, the land has always been in our family,” Don Mancine, a joint-seller of the property, said. “It was originally farmland and my grandfather may have had plans, at some point, to develop the property but that never occurred. However, that first purchase started the historical connection between our families and CCBC.”

The 12.5 acres that was recently sold to CCBC was first purchased by Frank and Don’s grandfather, Joseph Mancine, in 1942. The property was passed on to Joseph’s sons, James Mancine and Frank Mancini, when Joseph passed away and subsequently was part of the estates of the wives of James and Frank, Antoinette Mancine and Theresa Mancini. The estates held the property for approximately seven years.

“Although we were not actively trying to sell the property, we had discussions with several people that were interested in purchasing the property for development, but did not reach an agreement,” Don Mancine said.

This is when Don connected with his co-worker Steve Robinson, who has been a member of the CCBC Board of Trustees since 2010.

“I heard CCBC may be interested in expanding the campus in the future. Since our property was contiguous to the CCBC property, we approached CCBC for the purchase of the land,” Mancine explained. “Personally, I thought that an extension of CCBC would be more beneficial to the community than another retail or residential development.”

Robinson attributes the purchase of the land to many factors happening at the right time.

“We got really lucky,” Robinson said. “We were about to start bond financing and were able to alter the bond to include the price of the property. Without that, the purchase would have taken much longer.”

Robinson also attributes the success of the purchase to the long-standing history with the Mancini and Mancine families.

“The families wanted the College to have the land in order to help grow the campus. On top of that, CCBC has a great rapport with the families. We also had the support of the Beaver County Commissioners and CCBC President Dr. Chris Reber. This could not have been a more perfect opportunity,” Robinson said.

As Beaver County changes and grows with new developments and expanding industry, CCBC remains the ideal location to serve the County and the surrounding area due to the history of partnerships with those who live in the communities the College serves.

About CCBC
Founded in 1966 and preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary, CCBC’s annual enrollment exceeds 3,500 credit students and an additional 3,000 non-credit students. CCBC is an Achieving the Dream Leader College and is embarking on a vision to grow its offerings and community engagement through partnerships and new program development. CCBC offers 71 degree, certificate and diploma programs and hundreds of Continuing Education and Workforce Development programs as well as seamless transfer to a growing number of baccalaureate and graduate institutions.