$150K donation to help Latrobe move forward with blight program

A countywide blight study completed earlier this year found that nearly 10% of Latrobe’s properties have problems like peeling paint, cracked bricks or rotting wood.

A program to help Latrobe address the issue is receiving a $150,000 boost from Robindale Energy Services.

The Latrobe-based company donated the money to the Latrobe Community Revitalization Program and will receive a $112,500 tax credit from the state’s Neighborhood Assistance Program, which helps support nonprofits, businesses and residents in distressed or low-income neighborhoods.

The focus will be on properties that were deemed in “fair” condition in a 2021 to 2022 county blight study.

The study found 368 of the city’s 3,912 properties are in fair poor condition and 57 are in poor condition.

“The idea for the NAP was listed in the study as one of the many solutions for all of us to consider,” said Jarod Trunzo, executive director of Latrobe Community Revitalization Program.

Robindale became involved in the application through a community discussion. The Kroh family leads the company and are residents of Latrobe.

“The Kroh family wants to help the community,” Robindale Energy office manager Carol Paynter said. “Their support is always there. Right now, it’s a donation but Jarod and Linda (McKenna Boxx) are very much aware that if they need any help carrying out the project, Robindale would be more than happy to jump in and help. This is the first stage of the project, and we’re not sure how it will go, but no matter what, it will still do good for the community.”

Latrobe Community Revitalization Program is looking to begin construction in May . Trunzo said construction will last until September.

“I want to stress that this is a pilot program,” Trunzo said. “We have a good track record of rehabilitating properties. This is the first time we’re moving into residential, so there’s going to be some learning along the way.”

Officials will be further researching fair-rated properties to determine targets for the project. They will then contact owners and acquire the contracts needed to start the work.

Trunzo said he is hoping to build on this project. His team is planning to take a closer look at how properties will be addressed in January.

“We want to see how this goes,” Trunzo said. “We’re going to start with high quality and low quantity and go from there. We hope that we can do this pilot program and do it right and keep it going with all the good work the city and others are doing.”

Brian Lawrence, executive director of the county’s redevelopment authority and land bank, emphasized blight affects everyone in a community. It spreads quickly and leads to higher crime, hurts the housing market and is a risk to safety and welfare. Latrobe’s revitalization project will focus on getting to know the city’s properties and their owners.

“Properties are like people, there’s a story behind them,” Lawrence said. “We want to start a dialogue with property owners and try to find out how we can make it better for them and us.”