Westmoreland Land Bank sells 70th property as it acquires its 100th

The 70 ^th property to be sold by the Westmoreland County Land Bank is a single-family dwelling in Jeannette, tucked away from the road a bit.

The property, once weed-covered and unkempt, is newly remodeled and looks ready for a family to move in.

“This home is a doll house!” proclaims a listing on several real estate websites.

The pending sale is a milestone for the Land Bank, founded in 2014, and a sign that its Homeownership Program is working, said spokeswoman Shelby Michalek.

“It was pretty much a full rehab, with new wiring and everything,” Michalek said. “We make sure they are ready to move into for the new resident, so they have to do minimal work.”

Through the program, the Land Bank renovates residential properties and makes them available to low- to moderate-income families. Michalek declined to identify the buyer in the most recent sale.

The Jeannette house was the sixth to be sold through the program, although a closing date has not yet been set. A seventh Land Bank home is located at 416 Wayne Ave. in the Academy Hill Historic District in Greensburg, and is currently listed for $58,000, Michalek said.

Homes usually are listed through Joanne Waszo and Jacquie Smarto Williams of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Proceeds from home sales are reinvested into other Land Bank-owned houses in need of repair.

“This last home (in Jeannette) went under agreement the same day it was listed, and the improvement to the neighborhood is noticeable,” Waszo said.

The house was listed on Zillow and other real estate websites for $80,000. Other homes sold through the Homeownership Program are in Trafford, Jeannette, Irwin, Derry Township and Mt. Pleasant.

The Land Bank announced another milestone this week in the acquisition of its 100 ^th property – a vacant lot in downtown Vandergrift that was in the county’s repository of abandoned properties. The lot sits between two blighted buildings that will be demolished using state Keystone Communities Program money and federal Community Development Block Grant dollars, Michalek said.

“It’s going to involve some active ‘greening’ space, with additional parking in the downtown area,” she said.

The Land Bank acquires blighted properties, sometimes sight-unseen, through judicial sales or by donations from banks and private owners. After acquisition, the Land Bank either facilitates demolition of the property or prepares it for resale.

Of the remaining 29 properties, most are small, vacant lots that have been part of the Land Bank portfolio for at least a year and are being positioned for redevelopment, Michalek said.

“We do have some commercial and residential structures left, but they have not been under Land Bank ownership for as long,” she said.

Land Bank Executive Director April Kopas said the Vandergrift acquisition was made possible through a partnership with the borough and the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority.

“The success of the Land Bank is a direct result of the strong partnerships we have developed with our (22) host communities,” Kopas said. “We are actively looking to acquire more properties to reinvest and redevelop.”

A list of available properties is available at www.WestmorelandLandBank.com .

Stephen Huba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Stephen at 724-850-1280, shuba@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shuba_trib.