Redevelopment authority OKs about $1M in grants
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Allegheny County's Redevelopment Authority has approved almost $1 million in grants to help cultural, educational and recreational institutions carry out major projects.
The funding approved last week by the authority board included $250,000 for improvements at the Jewish Community Center in Scott and the same amount for modernization at the Teamster Temple in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood.
Other grants from the authority's Community Infrastructure & Tourism Fund will go to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Great Allegheny Passage improvements in McKeesport, a Penn Hills community center and the Carnegie Science Center on Pittsburgh's North Shore.
Money for the Infrastructure & Tourism Fund comes from taxes on the state's casinos.
The South Hills branch of the Jewish Community Center was completed 13 years ago, and its original carpeting and locker room equipment are still in place. The authority grant will help pay for replacements.
Director of development Mayda Roth told board members that the community center serves about 3,000 adults and children and 4,000 senior citizens annually.
The Teamster Temple, 4701 Butler St., is used by many community groups throughout the year. "In the summer, it can get too hot," union spokesman Dennis Troy said.
The redevelopment grant will be used to upgrade the building's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, he said. Other changes will help make the structure more accessible to people with disabilities and meet federal accessibility standards.
A $50,000 grant from the authority will go toward $1 million in improvements planned for a multipurpose center on Lincoln Road in Penn Hills. The money will be used to improve basketball courts, a playground and sidewalks, Chris Blackwell told the board members. Mr. Blackwell is the community's principal planner.
The submarine USS Requin, docked outside the Carnegie Science Center, has become one the most popular exhibits at the museum, co-director Ann Metzger said.
A U.S. Navy inspection of the decommissioned warship recommended doing a more complete survey of the boat to check for signs of deterioration. The $125,000 from the authority will be part of the funding for a planned $2 million restoration.
"The inside is pristine, and we hope to get the outside up to that standard," museum co-director Ron Baillie said.
The authority approved $100,000 for realignment of the Great Allegheny Passage hiking and biking trail as it passes through McKeesport on its way to Cumberland, Md.
The existing on-street path through McKeesport is badly marked and makes use of already crowded sidewalks along part of its route, authority members were told. The new on-street trail will have marked bike lanes along Fifth Avenue, Locust Street and Strawberry Alley.
Separate plans call for the last link in the Pittsburgh-to-Washington, D.C., trail, a one-mile stretch through Sandcastle Waterpark, to be completed this year, said Linda McKenna Boxx, president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance.
Out-of-town trekkers easily could become disoriented trying to follow the current route through the city, she said.
The board approved a $200,000 grant for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. The money will help fund a $6 million expansion project for the dance company and its ballet school in Pittsburgh's Strip District.
Harris Ferris, executive director of Pittsburgh Ballet, said the expansion would allow a doubling of enrollment, he said.
First Published January 30, 2012 12:00 am
