Wilmerding receives funding to demolish 3 blighted properties

Wilmerding code officer and Fire Marshal Al Hussey doesn’t have any specific plans for the property at 109 Middle Ave. But he sure was glad to find out the borough would be able to tear it down in the near future.

“It’s literally leaning on Angie’s Restaurant next door,” Hussey said.

The abandoned home, along with two others at 138 State St. and 130 Middle Ave., will be demolished with $102,000 from the state’s Act 152 program, which provides funding for blight and remediation. More than 20 towns in Allegheny County will receive a combined $1.46 million, which will fund demolition of 58 properties.

Joe Maurizi, who owns Angie’s with his wife Kathleen, is very happy about the grant announcement.

“It’s been leaning on our building for probably about the last eight years,” Maurizi said. “I wish the borough had more money to put toward demolitions. But I do feel a lot more secure knowing it’ll be coming down.”

Act 152 took effect in 2017. It amended a state law governing the charging of fees for recording deeds and mortgages.

The grants, averaging $60,963, were awarded with a particular emphasis on structures designated as “unsound” on the county’s real estate website and demolition clusters where structures were located in close proximity.

Hussey said both State Street properties were abandoned by the previous owners.

“There was a lightning strike on the roof of one, and they had no money to repair it and ended up moving out,” he said. “The other one was, again, a situation where the owners walked away with no one to fix the problem. The borough gets stuck with them and they become problems with rodents, juveniles going in or damaging them, and they become a fire risk.”

Projects range from a large, run-down multi-unit apartment building on Race Street in Stowe, to a small overgrown property on Oakmont’s Valley Street.

And while the funding will help clear several eyesores in Wilmerding, Hussey said he doesn’t expect much redevelopment to take place.

“You’re not going to be able to build anything there,” he said. “It’s not like it’s Squirrel Hill or Upper St. Clair. I’ve tried to get the schools to maybe plant gardens or install artwork there. Penn State has a program where students install art on abandoned properties. There’s a similar program in Braddock and we’ve adopted some of those elements.”

But whether the properties are redeveloped or not, the most important aspect — safety — will be addressed through the grants.

“Demolishing property is very difficult for towns, and these grants really help,” Hussey said.