Westmoreland County is doubling down on knocking down blighted properties this year.

Commissioners this month approved demolition of an additional 13 dilapidated properties and, in doing so, signaled an expansion of a wide-ranging effort to reduce what is estimated to be as many as 1,500 blighted buildings throughout the county.

“We have to find a way to stop the spread of these blighted properties, and we’re definitely putting a large dent in it. What we’re leaving is a legacy of healthy communities,” said Brian Lawrence, executive director of Westmoreland County’s Redevelopment Authority and land bank, the agencies that are spearheading the blight removal efforts.

Commissioners identified multiple properties in Arnold and Jeannette, along with single locations in Donegal Borough, Mt. Pleasant Borough, Mt. Pleasant Township, Trafford, Unity and Latrobe to be included in the next phase of the blight removal program.

Work to knock down structures on those parcels is expected to cost $258,500 and will be paid through the county’s demolition fund, with money collected through a $15 fee added in 2018 to every property deed and mortgage filed at the courthouse.

“We made a good decision six years ago to address demolition of these blighted properties. It has been an important part of our reenergizing communities. Clearing these blighted properties has been instrumental in that,” Commissioner Ted Kopas said.

The additional properties were added to a list of about a dozen blighted structures identified last spring for demolition, doubling the program’s scope this year.

In all, the county has now earmarked more than $507,000 to demolish blighted properties this year.

“We want to obviously make Westmoreland County ready for the future and attract people and businesses,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said. “That is why blight removal is as massively important.”

Lawrence said the additional properties announced this month are the result of a change in the process of how blighted structures are identified and made eligible for removal. The streamlined approach is expected to free up demolition funds and enable more blight to be removed in future years.

‘Massive success’

The demolition fund is one of three programs the county has initiated to remove dilapidated structures, including the allocation of $10.4 million in American Rescue Plan funds to pay for a five-year blight removal program that targets properties in Arnold, Greensburg, Jeannette, Monessen, New Kensington, Penn Borough and Vandergrift.

“It’s been a massive success,” Lawrence said, noting that 199 properties have so far been razed using covid-relief funds. Demolition of another 99 blighted properties is in the works, and officials have targeted nearly 700 structures to be removed through 2027.

Blight removal is only the first stop in community revitalization, Lawrence said.

“We as a community need to have a conversation about what these properties will look like in the future,” he said. “These are very difficult circumstances with the current housing market and the difficult process to build new houses. We need to think about green infrastructure solutions.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)