A new $1.6 million program to stop future blight has more than enough potential applicants even before Westmoreland County officials were ready to formally announce its launch.
Brian Lawrence, executive director of Westmoreland County’s Redevelopment Authority, said referrals from other agencies have “overprescribed” what officials expect to be a popular effort to repair low-income homes before they become dilapidated and in need of demolition.
The county has yet to formally seek applications for the project that will pay for replacements or repairs of roofs, gutters, downspouts and windows of homes owned by low-income residents. The program is funded through a state allocation of American Rescue Plan funds.
The Redevelopment Authority has in recent months collected a stack of referrals for other county and state agencies from homeowners seeking funds for home repairs through other programs. Those referrals could cover the full extent of the program, which officials have been designing since last summer.
“We were planning for 50 homeowners. We now have over 113 applicants dating back to February,” Lawrence said.
The new Whole Home Repair Program will provide funding for low-income residents to repair parts of their residences that if left unfixed could ultimately lead to properties becoming blighted.
“We look back at our blighted homes and we found one of those three systems usually cause that blight. This program allows us to make a little investment in someone’s home so we don’t have to tear it down later. If we’re putting a roof on it, we’re keep it away from demolition for another 10, 20 years.”
Blight removal has been a focus for Westmoreland County officials.
The county operates a demolition fund, paid through by fees attached to deed and mortgage filings. That pool of cash is used annually to demolish blighted structures throughout Westmoreland County.
Commissioners last year allocated more than $10 million in American Rescue Plan funds to a separate blight removal program that is expected to target demolition and remediation of as many as 300 properties in in seven local communities: Arnold, Greensburg, Jeannette, Monessen, New Kensington, Penn Borough and Vandergrift.
The newly crafted Whole Home Repair Program is seeking private home inspectors to work with redevelopment authority staffers to determine the scope of work needed at properties that qualify for the repairs. The county also is seeking private contractors to perform the needed work, Lawrence said.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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September 09, 2023 at 05:00PM
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Westmoreland home repair program filled before program launch - TribLIVE
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