Tarentum eyeing more demolitions as work on 23 properties wraps up

Tarentum officials are eyeing another batch of dilapidated houses to tear down, after work on one group has been completed.

All 23 houses under a $171,000 contract awarded about a year ago have been demolished, borough code enforcement Officer Anthony Bruni said.

The work started in December 2019.

Bruni said the borough is withholding final payment to the contractor, Allen Demolition of Wilkinsburg, because some final work, such as grading, remains to be finished.

The work took longer than expected because of the covid-19 pandemic and because the contractor had problems with manpower and equipment. Some buildings were so close together they had to be torn down by hand.

A representative of Allen Demolition could not be reached for comment Friday.

Despite the difficulties and how long it took to get the work finished, Councilwoman Carrie Fox said she was satisfied with the company’s work.

“I think, all-in-all, it went pretty well,” she said.

In addition to the borough’s work, Bruni said some property owners took advantage of the company being in Tarentum and paid them for other demolitions.

“That was a plus to them being in town so long,” he said.

The borough is eyeing another 15 to 25 more houses to tear down, Bruni said. Of those, the borough is now awaiting the results of asbestos testing on 15 of them, after which Bruni said the borough can seek demolition bids.

Because having too many properties in one contract could be overwhelming for a contractor, Bruni said the borough may want to consider breaking them into two groups. Doing so could also make bidding more competitive, he said.

Of the 15 to 25 properties, Bruni said the Allegheny Valley North Council of Governments will be getting contract bids for six or seven of them as a separate project.

Bruni said he expects Tarentum to begin seeking bids, itself, before the end of the year, after the asbestos testing results are received.

Work would start after Jan. 1.