A public housing complex is getting smaller, while a business is getting larger in New Kensington.

UniFirst is acquiring 1.3 acres of Kensington Manor from the Westmoreland County Housing Authority. City council recently approved subdividing that portion of the complex off from the rest of it.

UniFirst, which fronts on Second Avenue, borders the housing authority’s property at the back.

Four vacant townhouses are on the parcel known as Willow Court. The housing authority will tear them down before selling the property to UniFirst, authority Executive Director Michael Washowich said.

The demolition cost will be factored into the sale price, which Washowich said will be disclosed when the deal is finalized.

UniFirst is a national company that supplies uniforms and workplace products to businesses.

What UniFirst intends to do with the property is unknown. A UniFirst representative could not be reached for comment.

Before the sale can be completed, Washowich said the housing authority will have to get approval for the demolition from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. He said the authority plans to coordinate the demolition with a city contract.

The buildings would be torn down next summer, he said.

The four townhouses have been unoccupied for some time and are uninhabitable, Washowich said. They are removed from the rest of the community in an area not conducive to families.

“From a leasing perspective, it was never an area that was very attractive because of its location,” he said.

In late 2018, UniFirst bought a small park and basketball court on 11th Street, next to New Kensington City Hall and adjacent to its facility, from the city’s redevelopment authority for $275,000.

The city rebuilt the playground, JFK Park, nearby on Fourth Avenue.

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