Asbestos violations slow former Westinghouse property development in Churchill

State and local officials say they are frustrated by the lack of progress that has been made on the redevelopment of the former Westinghouse Research and Development Center in Churchill Borough.

The developers of the property, Ramesh and V.J. Jain of Churchill Community Developments LP, have been fined $1.4 million by the Allegheny Health Department for improperly removing and disposing of thousands of asbestos-laden floor tiles from the facility and leaving workers unprotected.

An Aug. 7 hearing held to see if the Jains can pay the fine was inconclusive. A second hearing will be held on the matter, said Jim Kelly of the Allegheny County Health Department, adding that a date has yet to be scheduled. Until that hearing is held, work on the site, along the outbound lane of the Parkway East, has been halted.

The Environmental Protection Agency is also investigating matter, he said.

Officials from the EPA's Philadelphia office would neither confirm nor deny they were investigating the improper removal of asbestos from the research facility. No further comment was offered.

Churchill Community Developments purchased 135 acres of the property in 2012 for $913,500. The Jains have said they want to develop office and retail space at the site.

But in the last five years not much has happened at the site with the exception of a couple of movies, “Concussion” and “Love the Coopers,” that were partially filmed at the location.

“Everyone on council has been pretty frustrated,” said Paul Gamrat, Churchill's mayor. “We would like to see something happen.”

State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, who had worked with the Jains and helped secure $3.5 million in grants for the project, said there has been interest in the site from other parties, but nothing has happened.

“The whole issue with asbestos has slowed the project,” Costa said.

Suzanne Elliott is a freelance writer.