TM(Advertisement)
Tube City Community Media Inc. is seeking freelance writers to help cover city council, news and feature stories in McKeesport, Duquesne, White Oak and the neighboring communities. High school and college students seeking work experience are encouraged to apply; we are willing to work with students who need credit toward class assignments. Please send cover letter, resume, two writing samples and the name of a reference (an employer, supervisor, teacher, etc. -- not a relative) to tubecitytiger@gmail.com.
Ads start at $1 per day, minimum seven days.
Allegheny County's Blighted Property Program Seeks Applicants
By Submitted Report
The Tube City Almanac
April 06, 2015
Posted in: Announcements
(A vacant house in Braddock. Mark Knobil photo via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)
. . .
More than 30 communities, including many in the Mon Valley, have been added to Allegheny County’s vacant property and blighted structure program.
The program, run through the county’s Department of Economic Development, allows individuals and businesses to acquire blighted, vacant properties at a discounted price.
Local communities added to the program this year include Dravosburg, Elizabeth Twp., Liberty Borough, Forward Twp., South Versailles Twp. (Coulter), Versailles and West Mifflin.
Communities already participating in the program include Glassport, Homestead and Wilmerding. (A complete list is at the end of this story.)
Applications must be submitted no later than June 30.
For additional information, or to request an application, call (412) 350-1090 or visit the Allegheny County Vacant Property Recovery Program website.
Up to 60 applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis; only five applications will be accepted per municipality to ensure that all municipalities and residents have an opportunity to apply.
Applicants must be current on taxes, water, sewage and refuse bills on all properties owned in Allegheny County and cannot have any outstanding code violations or municipal liens on any properties.
The Vacant Property Recovery Program has become an important tool for municipalities as they work to revitalize their community, said Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Executive. “It’s obvious that this opportunity makes a significant difference in our communities,” he said.
In the past two years, county officials received 400 applications and accepted 151 properties, said Robert Hurley, director of the county’s Economic Development department, and 117 of those properties have new owners and are back on the tax rolls.
“This effort can also improve the safety of neighborhoods, eliminates maintenance costs to municipalities, and encourages community reinvestment,” Hurley said.
Allegheny County is accepting applications to acquire vacant properties in 37 municipalities at a reduced cost to the applicant in the following communities: Baldwin Borough, Braddock Hills, Carnegie, Collier, Dravosburg, East McKeesport, Edgewood, Elizabeth Township, Forward, Green Tree, Harrison, Heidelberg, Liberty, McCandless, Millvale, Moon, Munhall, Neville, North Fayette, North Versailles, Oakdale, O’Hara, Penn Hills, Plum, Ross, Scott, South Versailles, Swissvale, Turtle Creek, Versailles, West Deer, West Homestead, West Mifflin, West View, Whitaker, White Oak and Wilkins.
Discounts similar to the 2015 Side Yard and Blighted Structure Program are available on an ongoing basis in the other 17 municipalities that currently participate in the Vacant Property Recovery Program including Braddock, Coraopolis, East Pittsburgh, Etna, Glassport, Homestead, McKees Rocks, Mount Oliver, North Braddock, Pitcairn, Rankin, Sharpsburg, Stowe, Tarentum, Verona, Wilkinsburg and Wilmerding.
Funding for the program is provided through federal Community Development Block Grant funds, the county’s general funds, and applicant payments towards acquisition costs.
Originally published April 06, 2015.
In other news:
"Missing Man Sought By…" || "White Oak Catholic Sc…"