Avonmore the only Alle-Kiski town to apply for Westmoreland County blight grants

The first structures to be torn down in Westmoreland County using money from a newly created demolition fund will include a building in Avonmore.

“This is needed to remove blight and create economic impact,” Jason Rigone, director of Westmoreland County’s planning department, said of the new fund.

In addition to Avonmore, buildings in Derry Township, Jeannette, Monessen, New Stanton, Rostraver, South Greensburg and Youngwood were selected for the first round of demolition grants awarded by county commissioners. The county will use about $205,000 to pay for those demolition of four dilapidated homes and four former commercial buildings over the next year.

All eight municipalities that applied were selected to receive the funding, officials said.

“The municipalities chose these projects, and these locations were at the top of their lists,” said Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli.

Funding will go to the county’s Redevelopment Authority, which will oversee and pay for the demolitions.

“We were expecting a lot more to apply and we hope in the future more will apply because this is all about removing blight,” Cerilli said.

New Kensington administrator Dennis F. Scarpiniti said the city would likely apply for funding through the program in the future, but it didn’t this year. He said city officials were focused on seeking a $500,000 state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant that pays for similar projects, but on a grander scale. The city was awarded the state grant last year and officials are now working on compiling a list of properties that will be demolished this year.

New Kensington has been struggling with blight for years.

It costs between $8,000 and $11,000 to demolish a house and commercial buildings can cost as much as $100,000 to remove, he said.

The county’s allocations could take care of a couple sites, Scarpiniti said.

The blight removal program was established in late 2017 when county commissioners approved a $15 fee added to all deeds and mortgages filed in Westmoreland County.

That fee generated about $330,000 in revenue last year to create the new demolition fund.

County funds will pay all the costs for some of the demolition projects, but commercial properties in Avonmore, Derry and Jeannette will require some local money from the municipalities to cover the entire cost of those projects. County funds awarded range between a high of $75,000 for the Jeannette demolition to $8,500 to knock down a blighted residence in Rostraver.

A second round of funding could be awarded later this year for addition demolition projects, Rigone said.