Concerns over the condition of New Kensington’s downtown parking garage have prompted the city to close it.

The city last year hired a structural engineer to assess the condition of the Kensington Plaza Garage on Fourth Avenue at Seventh Street.

Dedicated in December 1979, the garage has seen usage fall sharply since the nearby Citizens General Hospital closed in 2000. City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti estimated that less than 20% of the garage has recently been in use; he did not know its capacity.

Ed Patton, owner of Patton Engineering, said his analysis found high levels of salt in the garage’s concrete, which he said corrodes the structural steel embedded in the concrete. The steel expands as it corrodes, cracking the concrete.

Because of that, the garage should not be used, Patton said.

“The garage is structurally sound. It is not in any state of collapse or concern for collapse,” he said. “It’s just a matter of the garage has not been maintained for many, many decades and these are the things that come up.”

Scarpiniti said Patton will present options for city council to consider. Patton said he may have them ready by early April.

Patton said the upper floors of the garage are not as bad as the first floor. In addition to the concerns about the concrete, Patton said the garage’s electrical conduits and drain pipes are deteriorated and the elevators don’t work.

While not knowing what repairs could cost, Scarpiniti doubts New Kensington has the money to pay for them.

“We’ll have to get the numbers and take a look,” he said.

Scarpiniti pointed to the money Latrobe has spent repairing its own garage.

Latrobe is looking to repair deteriorated cantilevers at its municipal parking garage. City council there will consider advertising for bids on the project at its Monday meeting.

The problem was discovered in 2019, when other overdue repairs were made to that garage at a cost of $68,692. That earlier work included updating expansion joint sealant and rusted handrails, renewing waterproofing on the upper deck and repairing peeling or flaking concrete.

Scarpiniti said that while some people paid to park in New Kensington’s garage on a monthly basis, most of its use has come from customers of a marijuana dispensary in a building underneath the garage beside its entrance on Fourth Avenue.

Scarpiniti said no one parks on the top of the garage. While the city has received requests to use the third floor for car shows and other events, the city could not allow that because of uncertainty over the garage’s structural soundness.

Demolition of the garage would always be an option; the decision will rest with council, Scarpiniti said.

“I’m certain we will be looking at the costs of all of the options as one of the determining factors in how we make our decisions,” Mayor Tom Guzzo said.

Whether or not the garage can be salvaged depends on how much money the city wants to spend on it, Patton said.

“That is what it really comes down to,” he said.

Staff writer Jeff Himler contributed to this report.

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