The Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority/Landbank (RACW) has been and continues to work in partnership with the City of Greensburg for the demolition of the former Derby’s building located on South Pennsylvania Avenue.
The building is proposed to potentially take one day to demolish beginning Sunday, September 5th with South Pennsylvania Avenue and Bononi Way (the alley behind the building) being closed from West Pittsburgh Street to West Second Street intersections for a time period of five to eight hours. The block will be closed to vehicle and foot traffic during those times.
Once the building is down, debris materials will be removed and the site will be cleared and graded with gravel.
In April of 2021, the City of Greensburg blocked off the sidewalk with sawhorses and stretched police tape to discourage anyone from walking on the sidewalk in front of the building after the roof and multiple floors collapsed inside. From the first floor windows, the opening of the roof can be seen and exterior walls have bowed.
“The building is a safety hazard that we wanted to eliminate in a timely manner,” said Kelsye Hantz, City of Greensburg Administrator. “We are thankful for the cooperation of the businesses, building owners and residents on South Pennsylvania Avenue during this project.”
This Sunday, September 5th is currently the only planned street closure, however, there is always a possibility of unforeseen circumstances that may cause demolition to progress more slowly once the contractor begins teardown.
“Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) filings came through this afternoon which gave us the opportunity to complete the initial demolition on a Sunday during a Holiday weekend,” said Hantz.
Further work will occur Monday through Friday between the hours of 7am and 7pm as well as Sundays between the hours of 12:30pm and 7pm. With the exception to the start date of September 5, which will begin at 7am. The potential completion of this project is slated for the last week of September 2021.
The RAWC and City of Greensburg asks that all patrons of businesses, employees, business owners and residential tenants say away from the demolition site at all times.
