Allegheny Land Trust receives $500K grant for former Churchill Country Club property

A green space project in Penn Hills and Churchill will get a $500,000 boost from state money, state Sen. Jay Costa Jr. announced Monday.

The $500,000 grant will go to Allegheny Land Trust, the future owners of the former Churchill Country Club property.

“It is exciting to see a partnership come together to breathe new life into a familiar institution like the Churchill Country Club,” Costa said in a news release. “This is going to be a large, but valuable project, and I was honored to advocate for it to receive state funds. So many of my constituents, myself included, will soon get to enjoy a beautiful open space recreation center.”

The Sewickley-based organization began eyeing the former Churchill Valley Country Club property in May, when it secured an exclusive, $3 million contract with Zokaites Properties LP to preserve the 145-acre property for recreational purposes.

“We are extremely pleased to be awarded the $500,000 grant from the PA DCNR for the Churchill Valley Greenway project, and we’re very appreciative of the endorsement and support that the project and this grant request have received from Sen. Jay Costa and Rep. Summer Lee,” said Tom Dougherty, ALT’s vice president of development and external affairs, in an email.

ALT has said the land is equipped with five miles of paved paths that golfers used to cart from hole to hole. The organization does not plan to build any structures or ballfields on the property.

Dougherty said the grant comes on the heels of a $150,000 grant awarded recently through the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County’s Gaming and Economic Development Fund.

ALT still needs $2.3 million in order to close the deal by March 2020. The nonprofit has raised a total of $740,000 from community donations and grants.

“We encourage all individuals who are interested in seeing this beautiful land preserved as permanent community green space to donate if they haven’t already done so to help us to surpass the original community goal to further close the funding gap and to demonstrate overwhelming community support as we continue to approach other potential governmental, foundation and corporate supporters,” Dougherty said.

The campaign’s website can be found here.

The former Churchill Valley Country Club – started in 1931 – has been owned by Zokaites Properties LP since 2013, just months after it closed in January of the same year. The clubhouse was demolished in 2016.

The Wexford-based development company, known for its high-end homes and commercial developments, was not immediately available to comment.