Grants pay for new basketball court in Blawnox

A new basketball court is on tap for Blawnox, thanks to two recently awarded state grants.

The project will see a full-size court installed near the Blawnox Hi-Rise where the old tennis courts sat.

The cost is about $105,000.

“That area has not been used in quite a few years as a tennis court,” Manger Kathy Ulanowicz said.

“This will be a really nice addition to the Blawnox recreation areas.”

The borough received $55,000 from the Department of Community and Natural Resources and $50,685 from the Greenways, Trails and Recreation program.

Borough officials expect the work to start in late summer or early fall and be completed this year.

Work will include new fencing, the court surface, hoops and a paved parking lot with handicapped-accessible spaces.

The new courts are the second phase of long-term recreation improvements, the first being a new playground unit at Blawnox Community Park in late 2019.

The equipment, complete with slides and climbing walls, cost nearly $100,000. It was paid through a grant from the Allegheny County Gaming and Economic Development Fund.

Borough leaders sought to have the playground updated because it is a gathering spot for so many residents.

The park also counts a community garden as part of its upgrades.

Led by the Best of Blawnox nonprofit, organizer Diane Casile said the group is seeking volunteers to help plant and tend to the garden, with the goal of providing free produce to residents.

Ulanowicz said plans will get underway for Phase Three of park improvements once the basketball court is complete.

“We will get together and see what else we might do to make the space better for people,” she said.

That project would still be a few years off, she said.