3 unsafe, eyesore properties to be demolished in Brackenridge

Demolition of three blighted buildings in Brackenridge is expected to pave the way for new development, bolstered tax rolls and better aesthetics.

The borough is among 24 municipalities in Allegheny County to receive state Act 152 demolition funding, county Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced. Money comes from county fees collected for deeds and mortgages.

“We are very excited,” Councilman Dino Lopreiato said. “These lots can potentially be purchased and new structures built.”

Or it can help attract buyers because of a nice side lot, he said.

“This is just another step to help attract buyers and businesses,” Lopreiato said.

Act 152 took effect in 2017. It amended a state law governing the charging of fees for recording deeds and mortgages.

Counties can charge up to an additional $15 per legal recording and put the extra money into a property demolition fund used to get rid of dilapidated structures. The county then doles out the money to communities that apply.

Brackenridge will receive $47,000 to take down the three abandoned homes, all along Brackenridge Avenue, at 1040, 1042 and 1066.

The buildings have been vacant for years, borough officials said. They’re unsafe and have not been taken care of, Lopreiato said.

Mayor Lindsay Fraser said many residents remember when Brackenridge Avenue was a bustling main street.

“We hope that our cleanup and redevelopment efforts will help pave the way to what ‘The Avenue’ can be in the future,” Fraser said.

In all, the county doled out $1.4 million to see 58 structures come down throughout the region.

Other Valley municipalities including Oakmont and Verona are part of the program.

Oakmont is slated to get $22,000 to raze a building at 631 Valley St.; Verona will get $20,000 to demolish a structure at 523 E. Railroad Ave.

This is the third year for the program, overseen by the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Grants were awarded to applications with a particular emphasis on those that are “unsound” and demolition clusters where buildings sit close to each other.

“The Act 152 funding has allowed us to help our municipalities across the county as they seek to clean up blight, develop properties and make their communities better,” Fitzgerald said in a release.

Since the program was founded, it has distributed more than $5.5 million for the removal of 250 structures.

This is not the first time Brackenridge has benefited from the program.

It received a grant last year to take down several eyesore structures, all also on Brackenridge Avenue.

Lopreiato said he is excited that the windfalls are impacting the borough’s 1st Ward, but “all of the wards still have lots of work needed.”

Fraser agreed, saying council knows there are several buildings throughout the borough that are demolition candidates.

“We are seeking funds to address all of them, but we also want to be strategic in how we allocate the limited funds that we have available to us now,” Fraser said.

Demolition likely will happen in the spring.