Oct 18, 2015 3 min read

The Redevelopment Authority of Greene County, as part of its efforts to address blight in local communities, is now planning to demolish a dilapidated house at the corner of Washington and Lincoln streets in Waynesburg.

The authority started the process several weeks ago by removing items of value from the house. Interior doors were taken by a nonprofit organization that will use them for its own housing projects. What we found more noteworthy, however, was the removal of exterior brick, which was then cleaned of mortar and offered for free to anyone in the community.

Authority director Dave Calvario approached the Observer-Reporter to get the word out and encouraged people to take the brick, noting that it could be used around the house for such everyday features as walkways, patios, garden walls and barbecues.

We think it’s a good idea to at least try to find new uses for anything of value in now-abandoned houses, rather than simply carting all the material away to a landfill. It makes sense from economic and environmental perspectives, and also makes for a good conversation starter – not every garden wall in town has its origins in the rickety old abode that used to sit down the road.

Though we’re fairly certain those in the demolition business do the same thing to a certain degree, we would guess those items that are normally recycled are mainly those that can be sold for cash. We can’t imagine a contractor working at a job site would want to pay his workers to remove and clean brick, then stay around just to see if anyone will come by to pick it all up without being paid.

We should note that, in this instance, the authority was able to benefit from free labor provided by inmates in the state Correctional Institution at Greene’s Community Works Program.

We’re glad to see the authority encouraging the idea of recycling and reusing materials from old structures. This idea also is fairly close to the idea behind the housing program the authority operates with the help of state grants and contributions from the county and participating municipalities. Under that program, the authority obtains dilapidated houses through donations, by purchasing them in foreclosure or from the county’s tax repository of tax delinquent properties. It rehabilitates homes that can be rehabilitated and demolishes those beyond repair to make room for new housing.

The houses that are repaired are then sold, with the proceeds going to cover the costs of the repairs and to possibly make a little money to continue the program.

The project’s aim, according to Calvario, is to eliminate blight, return properties to the tax rolls, and, most importantly, provide housing for those who need places to live. When it’s possible, houses are re-used rather than just demolished.

As we have noted on this page before, blight is a problem that afflicts communities throughout the Rust Belt, as industries that once kept whole regions afloat have declined and younger residents have decamped to places where economic opportunities are more abundant.

Downtown business districts have also had to deal with the rise of malls and, more recently, big-box retailers like Walmart. Creative ways of confronting and taming blight should be welcomed.

The authority has so far completed three houses through the program.

It is always looking for property to “re-use,” so anyone who has a home they would like to donate to the authority should call Calvario at 724-852-5306.