MORGANTOWN — The second half of 2024 has seen Morgantown’s Land Reuse & Preservation Agency acquire a list of vacant and dilapidated properties in Greenmont as the city looks to bring new life to its oldest neighborhood.
That effort continued last week when the LRPA approved the purchase of 625 Pennsylvania Ave. and accepted the donation, with conditions, of 612 Arlington St. and 300 Overdale St.
The Pennsylvania Avenue property continues a run of purchases along the problematic lower Greenmont street specifically targeted by the city with $600,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding LRPA.
Unlike some of the Pennsylvania Avenue properties, the body had no issues tracking down the owner.
The property belongs to Adelheid Schaupp, the Greenmont advocate and business owner who’s volunteer efforts on the agency’s behalf has spurred much of the recent activity.
She sold the .04-acre vacant parcel to the LRPA for $25,500.
Complicating the matter somewhat is the fact that while the details of this transaction were being finalized, Schaupp applied for and was appointed to the agency as an official member.
The body unanimously approved the purchase as its first order of business before inviting Schaupp to take her seat at the dais.
LRPA Chair David Satterfield said the agency has made significant progress along Pennsylvania Avenue but is running out of money.
So far, the LRPA has been able to acquire more than a half dozen properties along the street. Some of them have been empty lots; others included dilapidated structures identified by the neighborhood as magnets for unwanted activity.
“As you can well imagine, $600,000 runs a bit short,” Satterfield said. “Part of what we’re going to talk about … is the agency needs to work with city council and other stakeholders to do some planning and say, ‘Is the $600,000 the full amount we’re going to have? Is this an ongoing program? Do you want us to take the parcels that we have purchased or closed on or have commitments toward and stop there? Is there something else you want to do?”
While the clock strikes midnight for ARPA dollars on Dec. 31, there’s more money coming.
The city announced in October that it had $2 million in congressionally directed spending on the way, likely in the spring..
That money, the city explained, is to be used specifically in lower Greenmont.
When asked, the city didn’t address whether or not some or all of the $2 million would be allocated to the LRPA to continue its efforts, explaining, “This is still in the planning and development phase.”
Satterfield said he’d like to see the agency work with the city on a long-term planning effort in the first quarter of 2025.
As mentioned, the agency also voted to accept two properties through donation – 300 Overdale St. and 612 Arlington St. – as part of its most recent meeting.
While the city can, and often will, waive any outstanding fees or liens it has against a property if the owner donates the land, there are issues like outstanding taxes or legal matters that the city won’t take on.
To that end, all donations are accepted “subject to any outstanding liens, defects or encumbrances.”
In the case of 300 Overdale St. the inclusion of the vacant adjacent and adjoining property was also a condition of the agency acceptance.
“I’m extremely pleased to see this on here. I had no idea this was even in discussion to be donated,” Schaupp said. “This has been a problem property for a long time in Greenmont.”
