Land bank fosters new life for more than 170 abandoned Westmoreland properties

Nov. 28—When Jackie Sobel and her father, David, were looking to put down roots for their craft brewery, they knew new construction wasn't going to be right for the vibe they wanted.

"We were looking for something that had a lot of character," she said.

They perused Westmoreland County Land Bank property listings and instantly knew that a former department store on Clay Avenue in Jeannette was meant to have a second life as Sobel's Obscure Brewery.

The land bank has sold 171 properties throughout Westmoreland County. Some communities have more than others — 22 have been sold in Jeannette and 18 and 17 in Latrobe and Greensburg, respectively. Four each have been sold in Arnold, New Kensington and Lower Burrell.

For sale are 100 more, and 20 are under agreement.

"We're pretty much the only land bank in Western Pennsylvania that is working on this scope," said communications manager Ashley Vidale. "There's no road map for us."

The land bank was created in November 2013 by the Westmoreland County commissioners after a 2012 state law paved the way. The local effort is one of about 25 in operation statewide.

For the Sobels, it didn't matter that opening their business would require a complete renovation to turn the abandoned building, acquired by the land bank in 2012, into a thriving business with 10 jobs.

They put together a 10-year business plan and got to work, opening to the public in 2022. The land bank helped them get control of a neighboring building that is now an outdoor courtyard with seating.

"The fact that it has history generates business for us," Sobel said. "We've tried to honor the history of the space."

It's one of many success stories the land bank has been behind since its inception 10 years ago.

The agency's mission is to eliminate blight in an effort to create healthy communities. That can mean turning a tax delinquent property into a tax revenue stream for a municipality, while improving the quality of life for those who live around it.

Properties typically are acquired at tax and judicial sales or from the county's repository, which is where parcels go if they are unsold at one of those sales. The land bank also takes donations and can make market purchases.

East Vandergrift site

It's important to collaborate with member municipalities to identify properties that could be ripe for help, Lawrence said. That's how a $16 million project turning the former East Vandergrift Elementary School, acquired by the land bank in 2021, into affordable senior apartments came about.

The Morning Sun Senior Lofts project, which is underway, is going to make a huge difference to the tiny neighborhood, said Adam Coleman, who lives across McKinley Avenue from it and attended the school as a child.

"It'll make the community look better, not so run down," he said from his front porch. "I think it's great. I like it, and I don't have to look at such an eyesore."

Once a vacant, abandoned property is identified, land bank staff members do a site investigation and examine its ownership status. Many of the properties the land bank has acquired resulted in demolition, but others have been rehabilitated. Some of those demolitions turned into side yards for neighbors or public green space.

Thirty municipalities have joined the land bank by contributing a one-time $5,000 fee. East Huntingdon did so a year ago to get help with a home in the village of Tarrs that has since been torn down. The property is under agreement.

"That has been a big blessing in the township," said township secretary/treasurer Alexandria Torock.

The land bank is funded primarily by property sales and has brought in almost $2.2 million since its inception. It has spent $797,000 to acquire properties and about $3.4 million more on demolition, cleaning out or securing buildings and marketing costs, among other things. About $3.5 million has come from outside sources, such as grants, to pay for those costs.

Because the agency was created soon after the state legislation was approved, there was no blueprint to follow, said Brian Lawrence, who has been leading the agency for about three years.

"As the economy evolves, so does the land bank because they're so tied together," Vidale said.

The land bank has been behind large and small projects — the former Monsour Medical Center on Route 30 in Jeannette was acquired in 2014 at a judicial sale. Demolition of the deteriorating landmark was completed in 2017, and the land has been sold to a developer though it remains vacant.

But there's also the less noticeable ones tucked away in neighborhoods, such as a residential rehabilitation on North Church Street in Mt. Pleasant and the creation of affordable housing on Mary Street in Latrobe.

The impact, large and small, is expected to continue — the land bank is partnering with the county redevelopment authority and seven municipalities to identify and remediate blight with a $10.4 million allocation from Westmoreland's pot of American Rescue Plan funding.

It's hard to quantify the level of impact the agency has had over the past 10 years. There's the obvious removal of structures that might be dragging down a neighborhood or creation of a business in a previously abandoned building, but Vidale said it's also about making a difference for residents.

"It's not just about the money side of it, it's about the positive impact we have on people," she said. "It's about a place where people want to live, where they're proud to live."

There has been $592,000 property taxes collected in the past 10 years on properties sold by the land bank.

Moving forward, Brian Lawrence, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority of Westmoreland County, said the land bank hopes to find ways to stabilize multi-story mixed-use buildings in community centers. A stream of money would help the land bank do basic prep work before developers take over.

They also want to be more aggressive with catching buildings at a point where they can still be rehabilitated, rather than demolished.

"I think we're really on the cusp of supercharging everything we do," he said.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .