Shortly after becoming Bridgeville’s borough manager last summer, Joe Kauer began laying out a plan to demolish some of the dilapidated buildings that had become a blight on the community.
This week, Kauer’s work paid off when Bridgeville received a $74,520 grant to demolish and clear four condemned houses:
- 105 Prestley Road
- 1364 Terrace Street
- 145 Liberty Street
- 146 Liberty Street
“I have been seeking funding to demolish these homes since last August,” Kauer said. “All of the properties are vacant, unfit for habitation and have been condemned. All of the property owners have been served with condemnation orders.”
Demolishing a home, back-filling the lot, capping utilities and containing any asbestos can can between $17,000 to $25,000 each. The borough expects to complete the work by this fall.
The grant money comes from a state fund dedicated to blight remediation. State Rep. Jason Ortitay and State Senator Devlin Robinson announced Bridgeville’s grant award earlier this week.
“In particular,” Ortitay said, “the one property on Prestley Road is at the entrance to the borough. Bridgeville is a great community, and the removal of these properties sends a message there is a pride in ownership.”
Robinson said that “By using state funds to eliminate dilapidated properties and encourage additional regrowth, we are breathing new life into our community.”
There is at least one other building that the borough would like to see demolished. In April, borough council voted to apply “blighted” status to 671 Baldwin Street-Rear, a move that lets the borough seek funding to remove that structure, as well.