New homes to be built in Monessen will help address need for revitalization

Westmoreland Community Action officials expect the homes to be ready by October.

Five new homes will be built in a Monessen neighborhood as a way to bring affordable housing to residents and transform an area where blighted homes once stood.

During an open house Wednesday morning, Westmoreland Community Action officials announced they are embarking on the project that Executive Director Mandy Welty Zalich hopes will grow. Both county Commissioner Sean Kertes and Brian Lawrence, director of the county Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank, were excited about how the homes can improve the future of Monessen and other communities dealing with a similar level of dilapidated structures.

The event was held in the former Monessen municipal building, which is now WCA’s new welcome center where they will be providing services to the local community. The Welcome Center is one of several locations in Westmoreland County.

Dozens of people came to check out the open house and WCA representatives were excited to see the turnout.

“We’re glad to be able to help in a different way,” said Zalich. “There’s so many partners in Monessen and so many different things that we’re doing, and this is a great way for us to help in a different way.”

Five prefabricated homes will be placed on empty lots on Motheral Avenue that once were home to deteriorating structures. First Commonwealth Bank provided $750,000 through a Federal Home Loan Bank affordable housing program.

According to WCA Vice President of Administration Daniel Giovannelli, the project has been in progress for a year and a half and they are excited to see it come to fruition.

Giovannelli said the application process is still being worked on but asks for families to be on the lookout for the opportunity.

“Monessen is in transition. There’s a lot of blight in Monessen but there’s been a lot of work from the city and from the county to address that. The Redevelopment Authority of Westmoreland County demolished about 70 houses that were blighted,” Giovannelli said. “So that’s just a huge opportunity. You know, it’s really hard to deal with that falling down house. It’s really hard to live next door to a falling down house.”

Each of the five houses in Monessen will be built the same with two bedrooms, one master bedroom, two bathrooms, kitchen/dining room, a living room and foyer.

People who have a low or moderate income “struggle to find something they can afford and struggle to find something safe and, fingers crossed, this helps move the needle on that,” Giovannelli said. They are targeting potential buyers who would otherwise be unable to qualify for a loan to afford safe housing.

The project is sort of the second step to address blight in Monessen, he said. So far, there have been 101 structures razed in the city through part of a $10.4 million pot of American Rescue Plan funding set aside by Westmoreland County for blight remediation in seven communities. Lawrence said there could be 100 more demolished in Monessen.

The project contractor is Dream Home Sales & Construction of Finleyville, with WCA overseeing the entire project. Giovannelli said once the project is completed, they will be looking to start a new one for more additional homes in the upcoming years.

“Fingers crossed we’ll celebrate these houses, and then get to announce that there’s a whole other set of houses coming, but we’ll find out in probably December,” Giovannelli said.

During the event, WCA officials also got to show off their new welcome center in the former municipal building. The welcome center has existed for over a year but initially could only be accessed through appointment.

Resource Navigator Samantha Pugner-Piper said she’s always happy to welcome any guests and will do whatever she can to help.

“We do all kinds of stuff here and like I said, at the Welcome Center, we welcome literally anybody for anything,” Pugner-Piper said. “If there is something I can do to help people I will definitely do it.”

The center can provide emergency hygiene products, emergency clothing and will also serve a cooling and warming center throughout the seasons. There is also a living space where people can access food, play games and even sleep if they need the space.