Allegheny County Council to consider tearing down Deer Lakes Park building

The Deer Lakes Park Administration Building could soon be slated for demolition.

Allegheny County Council at its meeting Tuesday will consider a bill submitted by county Executive Rich Fitzgerald to authorize demolition of the building.

The building functions as an office facility. The bill states that the county Department of Parks has concluded the facility can no longer be used as an office building due to its “deteriorating and unsafe condition.”

Deer Lakes Park is on 1,180 acres in Frazier and West Deer and is a popular spot for area fisherman. The park also features walking, hiking and jogging trails, an 18-hole disc golf course, a ball field and children’s play area.

The park has seen several upgrades, including new shelters, restrooms and playgrounds since the county signed an agreement with Range Resources in 2014 to drill for natural gas under the park from a well outside the park.

Council will put the legislation in a committee and then bring it back for a final vote.

Another bill submitted by Fitzgerald for council’s consideration Tuesday would authorize demolition of the South Park Cabin, which has been used as a rental venue. Fitzgerald’s bill says the cabin also is deteriorating and deemed to be unsafe.