Published: November 13, 2009 11:27 pm      

Authority to rehab old school building

10 other properties targeted under program

EBENSBURG — An aging and unused high school building – the alma mater of generations of Dale residents – will once again get a chance to shine.

The three-story brick building last used for education in the early 1970s has been purchased by the Cambria County Redevelopment Authority at a private tax claim sale.

The school was one of 11 properties in the Johnstown area that the authority purchased this week. They include one each in East Conemaugh and Franklin boroughs and the Moxham section of the city.

The largest number, including a number of vacant lots, is located in the city’s Kernville neighborhood, said Larry Custer, authority executive director.

The Dale school will be renovated, including extensive interior work, and turned into eight housing units. Custer said they would be available for “very low income” residents under the recently funded Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

“We want to rehabilitate it and bring it up to safe and sanitary conditions,” Custer said.

Word that the old school will be fixed up was welcomed by Dale Borough Council Vice President Ronald Horn.

“That’s good news,” he said.

“That thing is terrible. It’s like a dump. We try to stop it, but we can’t patrol it all the time.”

It’s unclear how long the structure was vacant following its use as a school. While in private ownership, it has been used for some residential housing.

Three of the units are occupied, and Custer said renovations will be done so that the residents will not be displaced.

“We’ll fix up the vacant units first, then rehabilitate the occupied ones,” he said.

“We’re going to come out of there with eight very nice, rehabilitated units.”

In August, the authority was granted $3 million in federal funds to renovate housing in an effort to stabilize declining neighborhoods in the Johns-town area.

“It’s not the most attractive building,” Custer said of the Dale school.

The other properties purchased are located at:

• 95 Jackson St., East Conemaugh Borough.

• 1276 Main St., Franklin Borough.

• 59 Clover St., Johnstown.

• 744 Napoleon St., Johns-town.

• 312 South St., Johnstown.

• 316 South St., Johnstown.

• 320 South St., Johnstown.

• 643 Sherman St., Johns-town.

• 315 Trent St., Johnstown.

• 319 Trent St., Johnstown.

While some of the properties have homes that can be rehabilitated and sold, some are homes beyond repair or vacant lots.

Plans are to build two new single-family dwellings in the South Street area and eventually do the same in the Trent Street area, Custer said.

The properties were acquired for an average of $500 to $600, and all past taxes are forgiven. However, the authority must satisfy any liens and judgments.

“Each property has a different story,” Custer said. “Some are free and clear, others are loaded to the hilt.”

Custer’s staff is working with city housing and redevelopment officials to complete the projects, he said.