Joe Cene worked a grueling schedule for two years — one job at night, another during the day — until he knew his fledgling dumpster rental company could support his family.

“It was a struggle,” Cene said.

Six years after starting Triple P Disposal, Cene is at the point of building a home for his business in Arnold.

Cene is buying five lots, at 1339 to 1349 Fourth Ave., where he would operate his roll-off dumpster business. It would include an office and space for truck maintenance and storage of empty containers.

Triple P is split between two locations, with its office at Cene’s home in Buffalo Township and the rest at rented space on Powers Drive in New Kensington.

“We’ve been looking to buy, and this came about,” he said. “It’s pretty awesome.”

Cene said he and Arnold’s redevelopment authority have agreed on a price for the lots, but the sale is not yet complete.

Triple P was one of two businesses that bid for the properties, said Rick Rayburg, Arnold’s community development director. They are working to find another location for the other business.

Of the five lots, four are vacant land. The fifth, 1339 Fourth Ave., has an abandoned building on it that is among 10 being torn down under the city’s contract with AP Wise Excavating.

While the sale is contingent on zoning approval, Rayburg said what Cene wants to build and do there should be permitted. The area is zoned for commercial and light industrial.

In demolishing abandoned and dilapidated houses, Arnold has sought to tear down buildings next to each other to create larger parcels attractive for development. The standard lot sizes in that area of the city are just 22 feet wide by 120 feet deep — too narrow to do much with individually, Rayburg said.

The approach has been producing beneficial results. Michael F. Whalen Contracting built on similar properties on the other side of Fourth Avenue from where Triple P will be.

Cene, 38, who grew up in East Liberty and Lawrenceville, has lived in Buffalo Township since 2012. He and his wife, Malary Cene, have three children, and Triple P is named for them — daughters Peyton, 14, and Paige, 11; and son, Paxton, 12.

Cene said he got the idea for the business from his father-in-law, Dale Bobeck, who died in September from covid. Bobeck had rented dumpsters that he used for his construction business.

“Funds were tight. I was unhappy at my other job toward the end there. I wanted to make an extra buck,” Cene said. “I bought a used truck and two dumpsters. It cost me $17,000. I put $12,000 on a credit card and paid $5,000 out of pocket.

“The rest is hard work and growth.”

From that one truck and two dumpsters, Triple P has grown to seven trucks and 80 dumpsters, with five drivers.

Cene said he hopes to close on the purchase in Arnold by October and have his building up within a year.

“I’m excited about it. I truly am,” Cene said.

There are two more abandoned houses next to the properties Cene is acquiring. Cene said he would like to obtain them, as well, and tear them down for additional space. However, the city has had difficulty contacting their owners.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)