The shuttered J. Edward Hutchinson Parking Garage in Greensburg could be demolished and replaced with a new parking lot by the end of the summer, if the state approves the city’s request to repurpose funding.
Greensburg City Council approved an agreement Monday with Independence Health System Westmoreland Hospital to repurpose $1.5 million in state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program funding to demolish the adjacent Hutchinson parking garage.
The 475-space parking garage, built more than 40 years ago as supplemental parking to the hospital, is connected to the hospital by an enclosed walkway over Shearer Street. It has been closed for more than two years because of its deteriorating condition.
Council also voted Monday to submit a land development application for the parking lot project.
The state funding for the project was secured about seven or eight years ago to build a hotel in downtown Greensburg, said Mayor Robb Bell.
The hotel project came to a halt during the pandemic, Bell said.
“In the meantime, the Hutchinson Garage was getting pretty ugly,” Bell said, “and we decided to just repurpose (the funding) over to the Hutchinson Garage, because that seems to be the priority right now, so that no one gets hurt.”
The state needs to approve the shift of the funds, said solicitor Zachary Kansler.
“The state has to first approve our application to shift the money over to the garage,” Kansler said. “Once they do that, then we’ll work with the hospital system to get the current stuff torn down and a parking lot out there.”
Although the hotel project has been put on pause amid the shift in funding, Bell said developers are looking at potential sites to build a hotel downtown.
“We want to put up a hotel in the city of Greensburg and use that as an incentive to entice developers to come in, but it just never came to fruition,” he said.
Grant to paint mural on fire museum
Council also voted to apply for the Westmoreland County Local Arts grant for the Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department Fire Museum, located near City Hall on Pennsylvania Avenue.
If awarded, the grant would be used to paint a mural on the exterior of the building, which features vintage firefighting vehicles and equipment.
The Westmoreland County Local Arts grant, offered by the county parks and recreation department, is meant to support arts-related projects and activities that will benefit residents. It will cover up to 60% of project costs for recipients, according to the parks and recreation website.
The city will be notified whether they received the grant by June 6, the website states.
Quincey Reese is a TribLive reporter covering the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She also does reporting for the Penn-Trafford Star. A Penn Township native, she joined the Trib in 2023 after working as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the company for two summers. She can be reached at qreese@triblive.com.