Plans for veterans outreach, wellness center in North East draw Ridge, Kelly to meeting

NORTH EAST — Former Secretary of Homeland Security and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge quietly walked into state Rep. Jake Banta's office Saturday morning to join what he called a "distinguished group of veterans."

Among them was M. Richard Mellon, a former Erie resident who will invest millions to buy the historic Granite Ridge campus and transform it into a veterans outreach and wellness center. Mellon, 77, hadn't even toured the facility when in November he put a $2 million down payment on the property in hopes of honoring his late father and father-in-law for their military service.

Ridge, the two-term Republican governor appointed by President George W. Bush as the nation's first secretary of Homeland Security after 9/11, said he was grateful for the invitation to the private gathering.

"I wanted to be part of it," he said. "Mr. Mellon, I'm sure, has a lot of people pulling on his coattails to get him involved in many philanthropic and community enterprises. To have him be so committed to this puts an exclamation point on how important it is for all of us to rally around him."

Ridge, a U.S. Army veteran who earned a Bronze Star for his service in the Vietnam War, said he is committed to helping make Mellon's dream a reality.

"Bet on a vet," Ridge said, echoing the words of a friend and former Marine.

He wasn't alone. U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th Dist., pledged his support to the cause, too. And Banta, R-4th Dist., a former Navy Seal, said he's excited to tell his statehouse colleagues on the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee on which he serves, about Mellon's plans.

"This could really be something special," Banta said.

Mellon, his wife Melanie, and Banta toured the 200,000-square-foot facility on Friday. Mellon, who lives in Naples, Florida, but owns a home in Erie, could close on the $3.3 million purchase of the property from Ehrenfeld Cos. later this month. Mellon is the founder and president of the Mellon Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization.

"Melanie and I were overwhelmed," Mellon said about his tour of the facility, which served as the Mercyhurst North East campus between 1991 through 2021 but was originally a Redemptorist seminary shortly after the first buildings opened in 1868. "We had no idea of the opportunities the facility will offer. We had no idea there was going to be a facility where they trained nurses. We could bring nurses in and students and in the interval help veterans with what they need medically.

"When a veteran comes back it's kind of like the door is closed to them and they need to be able to return to civilian life," he continued. "We can train them to do that. It's beyond our wildest imaginations and we're grateful for the opportunity."

Mellon is trying to fulfill a longtime dream of honoring his father, Capt. Edward Mellon, and father-in-law, Pvt. William H. Knight. Edward Mellon was a World War II pilot with the Army Air Corps.

Joe Benacci, director of Erie County Veterans Services, a retired first sergeant for the U.S. Army Reserves, said Mellon's commitment has flipped the script on how such projects tend to work.

"Normally, we've got this great plan, we've got this great thing to do, but where are we going to do it," Benacci said. "Now we've got it backwards. Now we've got this diamond ... and nothing can stop us now. That's the hard part. Now all we need is ideas and brain power."

Banta presented Mellon with a card and a coin from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

"I look forward to what we're going to do here," he told Mellon.

Banta said there will be a study done of other wellness centers and how they work.

"It's such an inspiration to see what Mr. Mellon decided to do here because a lot of us have a lot of good ideas and we're inspired to do these kinds of things but the fact of the matter is we can't get from A to B to make that happen. He stepped up to the plate."

Ridge said he likes the emphasis Mellon has placed on outreach since too often veterans either are unwilling to seek help or don't know where to find it.

Mellon's plan, Ridge said, could give veterans a "world of normalcy, social interaction and love.

"That's what this is all about," Ridge, 78, said. "Outreach and wellness. Get them here, help them improve their lives. Any of us who've served in combat know that but for the grace of God (go I)."

Mellon followed in his father's footsteps and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during Vietnam in hopes of becoming a pilot. He served 3½ years and was honorably discharged with the rank of 1st lieutenant due to a reduction-in-force that kept him from flying in combat.

Ridge joked with Mellon during the meeting, asking if Mellon was the pilot who "dropped me off on the wrong side of that mountain" during his own service.

Mellon has said he wants to work closely with the Erie Veterans Affairs Medical Center to provide complementary programming for veterans.

"We have a community center," Mellon said. "We have an IT center. We can put them into an environment where they can meet other veterans. They need that support. We can help them do it.

"They're patriots and we have to recognize their sacrifice and give them the most wonderful opportunity to come back and make a meaningful contribution to themselves, their family and to continue to contribute to their country," he said.

Ridge's wife, Michele, said the Pennsylvania Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Erie, which opened in 1886, was the first facility of its kind for veterans.

"This community has been incredibly supportive of soldiers and sailors," she said. "This is a new opportunity for a new generation of veterans."

Kelly said it will be a "heavy lift" but he'll connect Mellon with the right people who can help him. The possibilities are "limitless," he added.

"What you're doing is incredible when you just look at the asset that's sitting there unused and what it could become as opposed to what it is now today," Kelly said. "It was a center for learning and it's still going to be a center for learning. We can take a population, a veteran population that too often is forgotten about, and make them the center of attention again."

Once the sale is finalized, Mellon will take possession of most of the property, including a conference center that Mercyhurst University had named in honor of Tom and Michele Ridge. However, on Nov. 3, Ehrenfeld Cos. sold 5.1 acres of the property to Brick & Mortar Property Management and Pero Real Estate for $4 million. This portion of the property includes townhomes and apartments that total 39 residential units.

Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Tom Ridge backs Mellon's plans for veterans center in North East PA