Program to eliminate blight comes to New Kensington and Arnold
ARNOLD, Pa. (KDKA) — A program to eliminate blighted buildings in Westmoreland County is coming to New Kensington and Arnold.
Both communities are now poised to join the Westmoreland County Land Bank.
"This is a premier street and to have this kind of blight is devastating," homeowner Edwin Jarnagin said.
"Across the street, there's a bunch, there's several on this block and throughout the city," said Shawn Whalen, the owner of Whalen Contracting.
Started in 2013 and implemented in other places like Greensburg, the Westmoreland County Land Bank has seen many one-time derelict buildings become tax-generating property again.
"We have between 85 and 100 blighted properties in Arnold," Councilman George Hawson said. "That's a lot considering we're 1 square mile."
Whalen is a third-generation Arnold business owner. He knows first-hand what can grow from the soil of former blighted structures.
"When we built our headquarters here, it was just leveled ground that had been delipidated buildings," Whalen said.
He said if you level the eyesores, revenue will follow.
"Bring more business in here, bring more jobs to the area, revitalize the area," Whalen said.
Meanwhile, Jarnagin lives next to a vacant home with an overgrown lawn with no utilities to it. He added that he hopes the program rolls bulldozers on the block sooner than later.
"It just takes down the property value and the beautification of the block," he said.