Arnold planning to have 10 dilapidated buildings razed

A demolition project planned in Arnold has shifted into gear as the city seeks contract bids.

There are 10 abandoned and deteriorated structures the city hopes to tear down.

City Redevelopment Director Rick Rayburg said the demolition bids are to be opened May 31 in the city’s redevelopment office.

Rayburg is in the process of formally acquiring some of the properties from the Westmoreland County Real Estate Repository.

Those properties, and the price the city will pay for each are: 209 and 209¹⁄₂ 16th St., $550; 1527 Kenneth Ave., $500; 1509 and 1509¹⁄₂ Kenneth Ave., $600; and 1341 Fourth Ave., $550.

Rayburg waited until the last moment to move on those properties in order to keep the city from possessing them any longer than necessary and increasing its liability for them.

The city also will acquire and/or gain the rights to demolish these properties: 1602 Victoria Ave., 1411 Taylor Ave., 1416 Third Ave. and 1423 Fourth Ave. Those properties will be acquired after the bids are opened and it’s known if they can fit into the scope of the project, Rayburg said.

He said the demolition will be paid for through money allocated for it out of the city’s federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations.

Overall, Rayburg estimates the cost of the project would be at least $70,000.

Rayburg’s goal has been to get 10 buildings to include in the solicitation for demolition bids in an attempt to attract more bidders and drive the overall demolition cost down.

But Rayburg hopes that more dilapidated buildings come down this year.

Last month, he told council that he’s hopeful owners of other abandoned structures that have received numerous citations will take advantage of the city’s project to raze their buildings, too.

He said there’s a good chance the demolition contractor would give those property owners a better price since, whomever that company is, it already has the labor and equipment in place to do additional demolitions.

“We are talking to four or five property owners to get them to piggyback on our contractor,” Rayburg said. “So, hopefully, there will be 15 structures taken down this year.”

Tom Yerace is a freelance writer. Staff writer Tom Davidson contributed to this report.