Pittsburgh Land Bank, PWSA work to streamline process for redeveloping blighted properties

A new agreement between the Pittsburgh Land Bank and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority aims to streamline the process of redeveloping blighted properties with liens against them.

A memorandum of understanding announced this week by the Urban Redevelopment Authority outlines a process for clearing outstanding PWSA liens against any properties owned by the Pittsburgh Land Bank. It does not automatically clear the liens, but allows the land bank to submit batches of requests to the PWSA.

“This will greatly assist the PLB in making vacant, abandoned and tax delinquent properties available for small-scale development, which also presents the possibility of adding these properties back to the tax rolls and PWSA’s ratepayer base,” said Pittsburgh Land Bank Executive Director Diamonte Walker.

The new agreement will expedite the process of selling and revitalizing those properties.

To sell a property, all liens must first be handled, a process that — without such an agreement in place — can be time-consuming and complicated. The deal between PWSA and the city’s land bank makes removing such liens — and therefore being able to use the properties — easier and less expensive.

That will, in turn, make creating neighborhood-scale development “economically viable,” officials said.

“We are excited to partner with the PLB to facilitate the process of bringing blighted properties back to life,” said Will Pickering, PWSA’s chief executive officer.