Blighted properties in Penn Hills slated for demo
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Four blighted properties in Penn Hills, including what officials described as a nuisance bar, are slated for demolition using Community Development Block Grant funding.
Council awarded Lutterman Excavating its $42,790 bid to tear down the structures. The properties include 49 Verona Road, 4268 Verona Road, 4813 Verona Road and 470 Wildwood Avenue.
The building at 49 Verona Road, the former site for Transmissions by Lucille, will require asbestos removal.
The building at 4813 Verona Road was the former Sandy Creek Inn, where a West Mifflin man was shot in December 2013. Johnny V. Johnson, 32, died a week later in the hospital.
Chris Blackwell, Penn Hills’ chief zoning officer, said the structure has been vacant for several years and is in “severely bad shape.”
Blackwell said he rejected the owner’s application for a building permit, an action the owner has since appealed to the Zoning Hearing Board.
“I told (the owner) it’s basically a race. We’re tearing it down and he’s trying to keep it,” Blackwell said.
Neither Blackwell or council included a timeline for the demolitions.