Category Archive: Preservation Alert
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Shuttered N. Point Breeze Firehouse Draws Interest
By Adam Brandolph
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Last updated: 10:22 am
A former firehouse and Pittsburgh police training center at the corner of Penn and North Lang avenues was opened up this morning for potential buyers to get a look in Point Breeze. James Knox/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
High ceilings, plenty of garage space, a classroom and a shooting range.
City officials believe Engine House No. 16 will make a great renovation.
“We want to see proposals, but we don’t have a preconceived notion of what we’re looking for,”said Claire Hosteny, senior real estate development specialist for the Urban Redevelopment Authority. “We’re just really excited because of the potential impact it could have on the neighborhood.”
Officials are seeking a buyer of the two-story brick building, located at North Lang and Penn avenues in North Point Breeze. About 30 people attended a tour of the property this morning.
The request for proposals can be found online at www.buyintheburgh.com. Bids are due Oct. 22.
The 6,500-square-foot building, which dates to the early 1900s, was last used as a firehouse in the late ’80s or early ’90s and has since been used as a police and fire training area. It is appraised at $90,000.
Eric Townsend of Forest Hills said the building’s nonexistent parking would be a problem if he decided to turn it into a nonprofit art studio.
“I’m just looking at everything and trying to get an idea of what’s available,” Townsend said.
Some architects and other potential investors touring the building said it would likely cost upward of $500,000 to renovate, but costs would fluctuate depending on what was done.
“I’ve never seen a turnout like this for a city property before,” said Michael Whartnaby of Point Breeze. “There’s definitely an interest.”
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Work on Former Hollow Tavern Progressing
By Jewels Phraner
LIGONIER ECHO
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Fred Haeflein works on reviving the Hollow Tavern on Route 30 outside of Ligonier. Jared Wickerham | Tribune-Review
Saving Sleepy Hollow hasn’t gone exactly the way owner Fred Haeflein expected.
He’s had a skilled crew at work rebuilding the log landmark, but now he’s looking for a good chef and manager to operate the restaurant.
After an arson destroyed the building in February 2008, causing so much damage that Unity code enforcement officer Merle Musick condemned the property, Haeflein bought it with the intention of restoring it.
Financial troubles plagued the project early on, and this summer Haeflein said he has struggled to find the right person to run the restaurant. Although he has fond childhood memories of the restaurant, he has no interest in running the facility once it’s finished.
“I don’t cook. I’m not a restaurant manager,” Haeflein said. “I build things. I save things. I just want this building here.
“I need a good restaurateur – no, I need a great restaurateur – to keep this place running for a long time,” he said.
When the project ran into financial problems in early 2007, The Progress Fund, a Greensburg-based nonprofit lending organization approached Haeflein about a loan.
“That valley is so great. So many people enjoy driving through it. And we thought it would be a nice venue for people to stop and enjoy the valley,” said David Kahley, chief executive officer for the organization, which focuses on tourism-oriented projects.
Project loan officer Bob Patter said that while people might not see progress as they drive by the building, that doesn’t mean work isn’t being done behind the scenes.
“It’s still a very active project,” he said. “Fred is moving forward with it. Perhaps not at the pace everyone would like to see, but he’s trying to find the right person to run the restaurant for him.”
Haeflein said he expected to buy exterior logs for the building. But he wasn’t able to find the correct size and had to custom-make them instead.
“I wanted them to be as close to the original (Sleepy Hollow) as possible, and you just can’t buy logs that width anymore,” he said.
So Haeflein spent part of the summer using an ancient mill in his New York shop to cut logs, then transporting them to Ligonier.
“This is probably a lot like how the original logs were made,” he said. “It’s a pure miracle that (the mill) actually worked. That mill is probably as old as this building and hasn’t been used in 20 years.”
For now, only a few logs are secured to the building, but Haeflein said he will be back to finish the job soon.
Kelly’s Sleepy Hollow LLC was formed by Haeflein and his brother, Rich, who have been restoring the landmark west of Ligonier for about two years.
Edgar Wiltrout of Ligonier is serving a 10- to 28-year prison sentence for torching the restaurant and tavern on Feb. 23, 2008, because the former owner owed Wiltrout $1,000 and fired his girlfriend as a cook.
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Challenge Grant Generates $100,000 for Historic Religious Properties Program
PHLF News
Wednesday, August 04, 2010Thanks to $25,000 in challenge grants from two anonymous donors, The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation is reviving its recently troubled Historic Religious Properties Program, which provides matching grants to help congregations perform exterior maintenance on their facilities.
“Since 1997, we’ve been giving an average of 70 to 80 thousand dollars a year in grants. When we hit economic hard times in 2010, we suspended the grant program, because there just wasn’t enough money,” says Carole Malakoff, coordinator for the religious properties program.
With the grant program in limbo, two donors stepped up three weeks ago, giving the foundation 60 days to match the grants. The foundation’s President put up $12,500, and over 288 donors contributed gifts totaling $62,710, bringing the total grant package available for the 2011 grant cycle to over $100,210, making this the most successful annual appeal in the Pittsburgh History and Landmark Foundation’s 46 year history.
Applications for grants will be due by December 1, 2010, and provide matching grants up to $10,000 to Allegheny County churches that are over 50 years old.
“Over the years, the majority of our grants have gone to stained glass window work, roof and gutter repair, and masonry work,” says Malakoff.
As a result of the generous outpouring of support, PHLF has decided to host a technical assistance workshop on September 20 at the Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside. Experts will provide demonstrations to members of congregations on green building, handicap accessibility, and all that it entails to maintain a historic building.
“We sent out a letter in June to see if there was enough interest, and we’ve had 30 congregations call to say they are interested. So, we’ve had a wonderful response, and we’re still accepting people to come,” says Malakoff.
The workshops go from 10:30 a.m. to two p.m. Interested parties can contact Carole Malakoff at 412-321-3612.
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Source: Carole Malakoff, coordinator for PHLF Religious Properties Program
Writer: John Farley -
New Hope for Jeannette Glass Co. Plant Site
Thursday, July 29, 2010By Candy Woodall – Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRobert Carter drives past it every day. He sees the blemish on the city landscape and questions the fate of the old Jeannette Glass plant.
A city firefighter for the past 36 years and the mayor for the past six months, Mr. Carter is quite familiar with Jeannette Glass Co.
“I remember when it was booming,” he said.
He remembers when the plant got so busy churning out coffee cups and bowls that the fire department had to go there to cool the tanks.
He remembers when it closed in 1983.
And he remembers getting a call to put out flames when a fire ravaged the plant for 22 hours in the mid-1980s.
Even though he still wears a fire helmet, it’s the hat he wears as mayor that is causing him to put out flames of a different kind these days.
In a 3-2 vote, city council last week approved a trip to New York City, during which Mr. Carter and solicitor Scott Avolio will try to calm a decades-long dispute between Abraham Zion and officials throughout Westmoreland County.
Mr. Zion bought the Jeannette glass plant for $4 million in 1983. Since then, local leaders have engaged with him in a number of fits and starts, hoping to do something with the old facility that is now falling apart. It has been exposed to the elements and is “a total eyesore,” according to the mayor.
John Skiavo, president of nonprofit Economic Growth Connection of Westmoreland County, said officials got close a few times, but talks ultimately went nowhere. He last communicated with Mr. Zion in 2007, he said.
“We had meetings for five years straight, but in the end, [Mr. Zion] was never agreeable,” he said.
Mr. Zion, 85, was not available for comment. An assistant in his New York office said he has a medical condition and doctors appointments.
That medical condition is why Mr. Carter is traveling to him.
The mayor said Mr. Zion first reached out to him six months ago with a phone call to congratulate him on his election.
“Out of nowhere, I got a call. It knocked me off my heels a little. He definitely caught my attention,” Mr. Carter said.
Mr. Zion told him he wanted to do something with the property, and Mr. Carter saw it as a breakthrough.
“It’s been a long time coming, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to get that property cleaned up,” he said.
No specific plans are in place for their visit, but Mr. Carter said he hopes to go “within the next month, as soon as possible.”
The property sits in the heart of the city like a monument, with rusted remnants reminding passers-by what Jeannette was in its heyday. It sits on about 32 acres on two parcels between Chambers and Bullitt avenues facing Sixth Street, with an appearance starkly different from the development going up around it.
As part of a $31 million effort to revamp the city, 25 single-family homes and a nine-unit townhouse complex have been built along South Sixth Street.
“There’s a major project in front of [the glass plant],” Mr. Carter said. “When people look out their back doors, they see an old, rundown industrial yard. And I don’t want people to think this is some old, rundown community.”
Getting the property cleaned up is his first priority.
“I’m not going to New York with stars in my eyes. I’m going on a mission,” he said.
The mayor and Councilman Jeff DePalma, who voted in favor of the trip, noted that Mr. Zion has been a good taxpayer, doling out $68,000 a year in property taxes — more than $1 million in the past 20-plus years — and can only hope he will be as diligent with the actual property.
“I honestly can’t read his mind. [Mr. Zion] has just never seemed totally determined to do anything with the property,” said Mr. Skiavo, of Economic Growth Connection. “That property is a real nuisance for the city and can become a real detriment as it further deteriorates.”
Three years ago, Mr. Skiavo and colleagues, through their redevelopment organizations, offered to buy the property for about $500,000 and clean it up, which would have cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said. Mr. Zion would have been relieved of all liability and able to sell the scraps.
“He entertained the possibility, but turned us down,” Mr. Skiavo said.
In 2007, Mr. Skiavo wrote a report to city council, saying the only avenue left was to force Mr. Zion to clean up the property through enforced ordinances and codes.
The history of failed business relations with Mr. Zion is why councilmen Mike Clark and Ron Dinsmore voted against the trip to New York.
Mr. Carter said he’s aware of the history, but has to try.
“I have a lot of naysayers, but I can’t live in the past. I can’t change yesterday.
“That property has just sat there for years and years and years. This is an opportunity to change that.”
Mr. Skiavo said the property could probably house a commercial or light manufacturing facility.
Mr. Carter drives past the dilapidated plant and envisions green space, a park setting, small specialty shops, something to promote the city rather than put a damper on it.
“One way or another, when that meeting is over, I will have a defined answer about what is going on with that property,” he said.
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Foundation Offering Money to Help Churches Pay For Repairs
By Jodi Weigand
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, July 26, 2010
Stained-glass windows at First Baptist Church of Glassport were vandalized Thursday. The church hopes to obtain help from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation's Historic Religious Properties Program to make repairs. Jasmine Goldband | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
A small Glassport church might have to pay thousands of dollars to replace antique stained-glass windows broken by vandals.
“They were all handmade,” said the Rev. Ira Kelly, co-pastor of First Baptist Church of Glassport. “They’re as old as the church is, and now they’re lying here on the floor in pieces.”
In addition to the heartbreak of losing the four 100-year-old windows in the sanctuary late last week, the congregation is suffering sticker shock. Replacements could cost as much as $12,000, Kelly said. That’s a tall sum for the 25-member church, he said.
In a twist of fate, the vandals hit shortly after the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation announced the revitalization of a program that could help the congregation pay for the damage. After two years of struggling to fund its Historic Religious Properties Program, the foundation said, an influx of donations has helped raise more than $100,000 for grants to assist churches in paying for renovations.
“We all felt it was an overwhelming response from our contributors,” said Carole Malakoff, coordinator for the foundation’s religious properties fund. “We were really thrilled at how this (fund drive) turned out.”
Due to a lack of money, the foundation had not awarded any religious property grants this year and gave just $32,000 in 2009, she said. Typically, the fund yielded about $75,000 a year in grants.
The recent fundraising push began three months after the foundation’s annual appeal netted just $22,000. Two members offered a $25,000 challenge grant, to which the foundation added a challenge grant of $12,500. The campaign ended last week with 288 gifts totaling $62,710.
Churches in Allegheny County that are more than 50 years old can apply for a grant of up to $10,000 to be disbursed in 2011. It’s a matching grant, meaning that if a church gets $5,000, the congregation must raise $5,000 to match it.
Malakoff said she has fielded calls from numerous church leaders seeking money to repair gutters and roofs damaged in February’s record snowfall. The foundation gets about 35 formal applications a year from churches seeking grants.
This year, the foundation has limited the scope of work to exterior renovations, including stained-glass windows, roofs, gutters and masonry work, Malakoff said.
“Those are big issues with historic properties,” she said.
Since 1997, the foundation has awarded about $700,000 in grants, which resulted in about $2.4 million in work on 100 historic religious buildings. Many churches raise money above and beyond the required matching funds, Malakoff said.
The foundation wants to keep the tradition going by establishing an endowment for permanent funding of the religious properties program, she said.
“We look at them as the major cornerstone of a community,” Malakoff said. “Many of these buildings are used for all kinds of community outreach programs. They’re of utmost importance to the community.”
On the WebApplications for grants through the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation’s Historic Religious Properties Program are available online at phlf.org.
For details about a September technical assistance workshop for churches planning renovations, e-mail Carole Malakoff at hrp@phlf.org.
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Regent Square Brick Streets to Remain Brick
Thursday, July 22, 2010By Deborah M. Todd, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteWith parts of the Regent Square neighborhood’s brick-paved Macon and Trevanion avenues in shambles following a recent water main break, residents’ efforts to make sure the street is repaired in its original condition have paid off.
Swissvale council President David Petrarca said the Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority agreed Tuesday to repair portions of the streets affected by the water main break with brick, rather than making repairs with asphalt as they had previously requested.
Borough ordinances require anyone excavating or repairing local streets to restore the surface and subbase with the same kind of materials that were originally in place, but the authority requested to repair the street with asphalt to alleviate costs.
“The water authority was very cooperative; we had a cordial meeting and the borough is happy with the agreement we reached. This is the best settlement that could have come out of this,” he said.
Questions about long-term maintenance, plus an offer from the authority to replace Macon Avenue’s waterline with the installation of asphalt, led Swissvale council to hold off on a final decision regarding the road’s repairs during the July 7 legislative meeting. More than 50 residents packed into Swissvale’s council chambers that day to voice objection to the authority’s request.
Neal Harrison of the Regent Square Civic Association outlined the benefits of brick paved streets, such as greater rainwater absorption, no annual repaving and increased property values for homes on brick streets. He also said several cities throughout the country are removing asphalt from bricked roads and renovating the original brick because of long-term maintenance costs.
“We would like to see the brick replaced. There are financial reasons, safety reasons and environmental reasons. The community is an asset and the brick streets are a part of that,” he said.
Mr. Harrison estimated replacing the brick road using existing materials will cost the authority about $81,000 compared to an approximately $90,000 estimate for the cost of asphalt.
However, Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority executive director Anthony Russo Jr. said the agency’s engineer’s report estimated a total cost of $475,000 to repair the street with brick and replace water and service lines. The report said making the same repairs with asphalt would cost about $250,000 and it is unlikely the company’s insurance will cover the costs of restoring a brick street.
The report also noted that the authority’s repairs would fix only damage from the water main break, not repair the entire road.
“Macon Avenue is 30 feet wide and 640 feet long. It should be noted that repairing only the areas where it is evident that the damage was caused by the water break will not produce a consistent cross section and/or eliminate the wavy appearance of the street,” it reads.
Mr. Petrarca said the parties agreed during Tuesday’s meeting to have each of their engineers examine the damaged streets to determine exactly which portions will be repaired by the water company this month. However, the authority has not committed to installing a new waterline on Macon Avenue under the new agreement.
Mr. Petrarca said the borough does not have plans to repair portions of the road that weren’t damaged by the water main break, but said the road will be back in working condition once the authority’s repairs are made.
The borough is preparing a letter detailing results of the meeting to be read during its July 28 meeting.
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Group Asks 1-Year Delay in Mellon Arena Demolition
Thursday, July 15, 2010By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteA group seeking to save Mellon Arena today urged its owner to delay a proposed demolition for one year.
Rob Pfaffmann, a Downtown architect who leads Reuse the Igloo, asked the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority board to give the group a year to develop an economically viable plan to save the Igloo. The SEA owns the building.
“We do not want to see a white elephant,” he said.
Mr. Pfaffmann said the group also would develop a plan to help the SEA cover the operating costs of the building while a more thorough planning process is undertaken and alternatives are studied.
“We should not rush to judgment on this if we have an economic circumstance that doesn’t demand it,” he said.
Mr. Pfaffmann was among about 10 people to speak at the SEA meeting today in favor of saving the building.
“There’s no do over. Once it’s gone, it’s gone and it will never be back again,” said Nancy Motz Cosnotti. “If the Civic Arena is gone, then part of Pittsburgh will be gone and I don’t want that.”
Reuse the Igloo also would like to see the SEA open the arena’s distinctive dome as a demonstration to see if it still works and to determine the cost of operating it.
SEA Executive Director Mary Conturo said no vote has been scheduled yet on a demolition, favored by the Penguins, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and county Executive Dan Onorato.
She said the SEA is still in the process of reviewing options through an ongoing historic review process.
Asked whether the SEA would agree to a one-year delay, board chairman Wayne Fontana said the request would be taken under advisement.
“I’m not adverse to anything at this point,” he said.
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Allegheny County Communities Examine Benefits of Recycling More
By Daveen Rae Kurutz
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Talkin trash. Ross officials are kicking off a recycling campaign to encourage residents to be more recycle friendly. Residents on Jefferson Street in the North Hills Estates are taking part in the recycling efforts. Samantha Cuddy | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Communities across Allegheny County are lightening their loads.
Instead of throwing away such items as newspapers and plastic bottles, more residents are recycling them.
Mt. Lebanon is recycling at nearly double the rate of just two years ago.
“There are so many environmental benefits. It makes sense to recycle,” said Larry Holley, manager of the Division of Waste Minimization and Planning with the state Department of Environmental Protection. In Pennsylvania, the “green” benefits extend beyond the environment.
DEP reimburses municipalities for what they recycle — disbursing nearly $35 million last year, Holley said.
Mt. Lebanon officials sold their constituents on recycling by making it easier for them to do. Last year, the township began allowing residents to toss all recyclables in one bin. Tom Kelley, director of public works, said Waste Management has collected 1,056 tons of recyclables so far this year – an 88 percent increase from the same time in 2008.
“It’s an easy program, and people like that,” Kelley said. “When you make things easy for people, they’re going to participate.”
Last month, Ross agreed to a one-year contract extension with Waste Management.
Mike Christ, municipal coordinator for the company, told township officials that they could double the amount of materials recycled if they increased awareness of what can be recycled.
“People don’t realize how much can be recycled,” Christ said. “They still think newspapers can’t be thrown in there.”
A heavy load
Pennsylvanians recycle about 5.2 million tons of garbage each year, according to the DEP.
The 5.2 million tons of recyclables saved 55,500 acres of standing forest and reduced greenhouse-gas emissions equal to removing 1.4 million vehicles from the roads, Holley said. He estimates that nearly 80 percent of all Pennsylvanians have access to some sort of recycling program.
Ross Commissioner Pete Ferraro said he believes recycling could help the township with its budget problems.
In December, Ross officials passed a 2010 budget that includes $1.3 million worth of cuts. Ferraro said he wants to at least double the township’s recycling reimbursement from the state – which totaled more than $22,000 last year.
“If we can raise $25,000 above and beyond our normal revenues, that’s a police car for us,” Ferraro said. “It’s worthwhile for our residents to recycle.”
In Robinson, the township began offering residents the opportunity to put all their recyclables in one bin this year. Township Manager Aaron Bibro said he receives several calls each month about recycling and believes that residents are catching on.
“The township just wants to do its part in creating a green community,” he said.