Development featuring $2M homes proposed near Murrysville Community Park

Murrysville council is considering a developer’s proposal to build 24 luxury homes with an average price of about $2 million just south of Wiestertown and Hilty roads.

Paul Fischione initially approached the municipality with a request to rezone about 55 acres near Murrysville Community Park to create 28 large single-family lots. After the rezoning request was denied, Fischione returned with a proposal to develop the property in line with its current zoning.

Bryan Metzler, with Bridgeville-based T3 Global Strategies, said the project will consist of luxury homes with minimum 1.5-acre lots.

In April, there were only 540 houses in Pennsylvania listed with Realtors that carried an asking price of $2 million or more, according to housing report from the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, a Harrisburg-based trade group. Of that number, there were 340 sold last month.

With a limited number of buyers able to afford such a high price, the report found there was 19 months’ worth of inventory of those high-priced homes. By comparison, there were 1,485 houses listed at prices between $1 million and $1.9 million, and 2,124 houses in that price range sold last month. There was only 8.4 months of inventory of houses priced at between $1 million and $1.9 million.

Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico said a $2 million home, which is assessed at about $200,000 in Westmoreland County, would generate $2,410 in property tax revenue each year, which could mean an additional $57,800 if all 24 lots are sold.

“Property assessment isn’t an exact science, though,” he said. “Nor is there a guarantee that 24 homes will ultimately be developed.”

Murrysville council’s public hearing this week addressed the excavation of 48,000 cubic yards of earth, which Metzler said will serve as the grading for roadways as well as estimated grading for for home lots.

“We have to clear trees to get homes and roads in there, but we’re trying to keep as many trees as we can,” Metzler told council. “We’re also trying to have all of our backyards function as open space for homeowners.”

There is an existing gas well on the property, owned by Diversified Gas Energy. Metzler said the company’s intention is to cap and remove the well.

The shift in proposed home sites did not change nearby homeowner Michael Tometsko’s opinion on the project.

“(Wiestertown Road) is not suited for the level of traffic it has right now,” said Tometsko, who lives across Wiestertown Road from the area. “The park traffic is incredible, and I’d be happy to show you video of people speeding down the road. I think that needs to be addressed.”

Tometsko also had concerns about the excavation and development’s effects on his well water and nearby Steele Run, as well as the proposed entrance area.

“There’s a half-mile of frontage on Wiestertown and frontage on Hilty that could serve as the entrance, rather than being directly across from my front porch,” he said.

The original rezoning request for the property was one of a number of similar requests in 2023 which council members declined to grant. At the time, then-Councilwoman Jamie Lee Korns said she hoped the municipality would update its zoning map and more clearly identify locations for higher-density residential development.

Council did not approve the project. That vote will come at a future meeting.