Former Newport Business Institute building in Lower Burrell to be demolished

The former Newport Business Institute in the Kinloch section of Lower Burrell will be demolished. City officials will move forward with plans to demolish the building at 945 Greensburg Road.

“We’re excited to see this next, and massive, step forward with that property,” Mayor Chris Fabry said. “Razing that building gives that lot a fresh canvas to build upon.”

The Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank acquired the property in January for about $1,960.

The building has been vacant since 2013.

Brian Lawrence, the land bank’s executive director, said third-party experts determined the building needed to be demolished rather than rehabilitated.

Lawrence said the land bank will work with the county to administer the demolition. The county’s demolition fund would cover the cost of demolition; Lawrence estimates that to be about $75,000.

“We are bringing an image of stability and safety for the community,” Lawrence said.

Simultaneously, the land bank will work with a real estate company to put the property on the market, Lawrence said.

Officials have said the land bank looks for certain criteria from prospective buyers — such as having enough money to purchase and revitalize a property, and align it with community needs — when selling a property.

“That building was once beautiful and I’m certain has some emotional ties to some,” Fabry said. “But it was beyond repair, and I’m happy with the county’s decision to tear it down.”

Fabry said he is proud of the progress made in the Kinloch area. A Tractor Supply store is scheduled to open near the Family Dollar later this year, and $500,000 from state and federal funding will pay for new sanitary sewer lines in that area by the end of next year.