The future isn’t clear for the former Newport Business Institute property in Lower Burrell, but officials say it is bright.
Brian Lawrence, executive director of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank, said the property is in the land bank’s “preparing for sale” status after the agency acquired it in January for about $1,960.
“The fact that it’s large and on a busy roadway is all indicative to selling the property and (getting it) turned over to productive hands as soon as possible,” Lawrence said.
“The land bank is here to ensure these properties are dealt with responsibly.”
The building closed in 2013 and has sat vacant since.
Although there are more steps before any use at the site can begin, having the building in the hands of the land bank is the best possible scenario for the city, Mayor Chris Fabry said.
“Their priorities are responsible ownership,” he said.
Lawrence said steps for the land bank are to evaluate the property to determine if it should be rehabilitated or demolished.
Then, they work with a real estate company to put the property on the market. Land bank officials look for certain criteria from prospective buyers — such as having enough money to purchase and revitalize a property, and trying to align it with community needs — when selling the property.
“The land bank has a very special role to put the property back on the tax rolls in a productive use,” Lawrence said. “We work in the public’s interest so the property can be reused in a productive way.”
Said Fabry: “The land bank cares about purpose first.”
Fabry said he’d like to see a grocery store occupy the site, although he is open to any sort of redevelopment.
“Nothing but good things can come out of that,” Councilman David Stoltz said. “It’s a big piece of commercial property. The options are endless.
“With Tractor Supply going right down the road, another retail establishment to complement that would be fantastic.”
It’s also part of a revitalization of sorts in the city’s Kinloch area.
Fabry said plans are still underway to open the Tractor Supply store this year. A half-million dollars worth of grant funding from state and federal authorities will pay for new sanitary sewer liners in Kinloch by the end of next year.
