HARRISBURG, May 25, 2021 – Local municipalities with projects to fight blight and stabilize communities will receive more than $600,000 in grants to fund their efforts, state Sen.Wayne Fontana announced today.

“Many of our older communities are plagued with abandoned properties that have become unsightly and unsafe,” Fontana said. “This blight creates a barrier to new investment and new residents, so the grants are an investment in a better future.”

Stowe Township will receive $110,000 to demolish seven properties that are dilapidated and deemed dangerous.  The money will go toward engineering and demolition costs.

Bellevue Borough plans to demolish three blighted properties and turn the land over to the county’s Vacant Property Recovery Program to enable their use as expanded side yards or parking.  The project was approved for a grant of $61, 630 for engineering, demolition and environmental clean-up.

The Perry Hilltop Citizens Council was awarded $20,000 for planning work to be done for a project that will eventually renovate two properties into multi-family housing and commercial units.

McKees Rocks was approved for a grant of $300,000 to acquire and rehabilitate a property in the borough as part of a plant to restore 10 properties for low-cost housing.  The money will be used for acquisition, engineering and infrastructure work.

The Char-West Council of Governments’ plan to demolish 12 properties in 10 different municipalities was awarded $200,000 for the demolition, asbestos abatement and legal costs.

“I’m confident that these grants will pave the way for future investment in these communities and encourage more municipalities to aggressively plan to remediate blight,” Fontana said.

The grants were approved at a meeting of the Commonwealth Financing Authority in Harrisburg today.  For more information on grants headed to the 42nd District, click here.