Home Care In Tarentum, PA

Holy Martyrs Church in Tarentum could once again draw crowds of people, albeit not for prayer.

The 51-year-old building at 344 W. Ninth Ave. is up for sale, with the potential owner hoping to replace pews and altars with treadmills and a basketball court.

The site is being sought by the Legends of Pittsburgh fitness center, which is co-owned by Kiski Area graduate and former Pittsburgh Riverhounds professional soccer player Stefan Lundberg.

The sale price of the church and terms of the deal are unclear.

“We are still in the stages of finalizing the deal and have a few things up in the air,” Lundberg said.

“It would be more appropriate for us to comment once that is done and we know for sure we are moving.”

The 24-hour gym is currently inside the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer.

Plans for the West Tarentum move include construction of an indoor soccer facility.

“He is going to put quite a bit of money into the building,” said Anthony Bruni, the borough’s code enforcement officer.

“They want to level the floor of the sanctuary and build a mezzanine with exercise bikes. The lighting will also be updated.”

Holy Martyrs was among five churches in Guardian Angels Parish shuttered last year by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Tom Babinsack, Guardian Angels administrator, said the parish declined to comment until the public hearing and sale are complete.

According to the Allegheny County Real Estate website, the total market value of the building and 2.7-acre parcel is about $860,000. It is assessed at about $106,000 for taxation purposes.

The project was recommended by the borough’s planning commission.

Bruni said the fitness center is allowable under the borough’s R-2 (residential) zoning. He said council can place stipulations on noise, lighting, parking and other issues.

There will be a conditional use public hearing at 5 p.m. Friday during which people can ask questions or voice concerns.

“I love the idea, but we already have a parking issue on our streets,” Councilman Brian Snyder said. “Will lighting bother residents? It’s kind of dark there, and I don’t want it blaring into people’s windows.”

Bruni said council should pay careful attention to the conditions they want to place on the sale, because if there are lighting or noise issues, the borough would be able to enforce them.

He also said the borough would benefit from the sale because the church would go back on the tax rolls.

The new owner would maintain the property, something Bruni considered a perk.

“The diocese has done their best, but they use a contractor and it isn’t always kept up,” Bruni said. “And, we won’t have a vacant building anymore.”

Councilman Ray Kerr said it’s likely there would only be parking overflow for soccer events. On regular training or practice days, cars would be in and out, he said.

Mayor Bob Lang said there are 80 parking spaces available already, plus an additional grassy area on the Grantham Street side of the building.

“I don’t think it will be lit up like Highlands Stadium if it’s an indoor facility,” Lang said.

Tawnya Panizzi is a TribLive reporter. She joined the Trib in 1997. She can be reached at [email protected].

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Categories: Local | Top Stories | Valley News Dispatch

Kathy Linderman started designing a Charlie Brown-themed Christmas float for the annual Tarentum-Brackenridge Holiday Parade in October.

The float — which she rode with her kids, Gabrielle, 11, and Benjamin, 13 — included Snoopy’s dog house, cut-out decorations of beloved Peanuts characters, and a small Charlie Brown Christmas tree made from a limb found in a neighbor’s yard.

“We do something elaborate every year,” Linderman said at the parade Saturday, which marked her sixth year participating. “We just like to do what we think people would enjoy seeing.”

Linderman’s float represented Tarentum-based nonprofit Faith Community Partners, one of several local businesses that decked out festive floats for the parade.

“We love joining the parade,” she said. “We love doing this for the community, being a part of it. It’s promoting community spirit.”

The parade featured a variety of participants, including Highlands High School’s marching band, the Pittsburgh Penguin, the Pittsburgh Pirates racing pierogi Potato Pete, the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile and numerous fire trucks from the local fire companies.

The parade typically spans over a mile long, said Carrie Fox, president of Tarentum’s recreation board. The parade, which begins near the Tarentum Bridge ends in on McIntire Way in Brackenridge, has been an annual staple for about two decades, she said.

“When I see this parade, I just get chills,” she said. “People love it. They can’t say enough about it. It was worth all the planning.”

Brackenridge Mayor Lindsay Fraser said the parade celebrates not only the holidays, but also the communities that come together in Tarentum and Brackenridge.

“I think our community really values tradition, and this is a really important tradition for our community,” she said.

Lauren Swigart, who joined family on a float sponsored by Weleski Transfer, said the parade kicks off the Christmas season for her family.

“It makes everybody happy,” she said.

Her daughter, Kendall Swigart, 9, said she was eager to ride the float and throw candy for spectators — and eat some , too.

“I think it’s just really fun seeing all the floats,” she said.

Madison Vargo, of Natrona Heights, said she looked forward to seeing everyone come together for a fun, festive event. She planned on passing out candy with her dog, Cooper.

“We do it every year,” she said. “It’s a great community. Everybody comes together, all the businesses, the high school kids. It’s a big turnout this year.”

Categories: Editor's Picks | Local | Valley News Dispatch

The clamor of trains chugging through Tarentum — and perhaps the inconvenience of getting stuck at one of its crossings — is a daily reminder of the role locomotives play in the borough.

While the route is no longer used for passengers, that wasn’t the case in the early days.

There have been four Tarentum railroad stations over the years.

The first was located in Lower Burrell. The Allegheny Valley Railroad on the Lower Burrell side of the Allegheny River was built before the West Penn Railroad on the Tarentum side of the river.

In the mid-1800s, Craigdell Road, which is behind the Giant Eagle on Tarentum Bridge Road, extended all the way down to the river. In 1856, the Allegheny Valley Railroad completed its tracks between Pittsburgh and Kittanning. That same year, the company opened a station at the base of Craigdell Road and named it Tarentum Station.

This was because passengers wishing to travel to Tarentum would exit the train and take a ferry across the river to Tarentum. Passengers crossing the river would board a ferry and travel to Hairs Island in the middle of the river.

Then they would walk across the island to board a second ferry to take them from the island to Tarentum. At that time, the water downstream from Hairs Island was too shallow to make it practical for a single ferry to go around the tip of the island.

Around 1900, Hairs Island was removed by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. for its sand, which was used to make glass.

The station at the base of Craigdell continued to be called Tarentum Station for many years, even after 1866 when the West Penn Railroad began operating trains on the Tarentum side of the river. For a time, there were two Tarentum Stations, one on each side of the river.

Later, the station on the Lower Burrell side was renamed Craigdell Station. In the 1920s, it again was renamed as Renoulf’s Beach Station after the immensely popular swimming area adjacent to it.

The West Penn Railroad operated along the north side of the Allegheny River. The company purchased the old canal rights of way and built its tracks on top of the old canal bed.

On Oct.12, 1866, the first train passed through Tarentum. It was decorated with red, white and blue bunting and had 100 dignitaries as passengers, including senators, congressmen and other state officials.

The second Tarentum Station was built about 1870 near the site of the present JG’s Tarentum Station Grille restaurant.

A third, larger Tarentum Station was constructed near Lock Street in 1892. It was a one-story wood frame structure.

After the flood of 1913, the railroad decided to raise the tracks and station 3 feet. In 1915, the station was moved and redesigned. A two-story addition was added to its center, and the wood structure was overlayed with brick. The station reopened in late 1916.

In 1964, the last passenger train passed through Tarentum. The abandoned railroad station was sold to the parking authority in 1981. The building was renovated and reopened in November 1983 as the Tarentum Station Restaurant and Lounge. It remained in business until 2007.

After extensive remodeling, the train station restaurant reopened as JG’s Tarentum Station Grille in January 2008 under the new ownership of John Greco.

In August 2014, Tarentum Council sold the historic train station to John Greco for $150,000 at a public auction. The borough continues to own the parking lots surrounding the station. These lots generate the bulk of the meter revenue the borough collects each year.

Tarentum residents likely won’t see a property tax increase in 2024 after council approved the borough’s preliminary budget Tuesday.

But electric and garbage collection bills are expected to rise.

Supply costs for the borough’s electrical distribution system are set to nearly double, meaning the price hike will be funneled to borough electric rates.

Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf said the tax rate is expected to remain 5.48 mills. The owner of a home assessed at $100,000 would again pay $548.

If the final budget is approved in December, it would be the 20th year without a tax hike in the borough.

Boddorf said the budget prioritizes infrastructure maintenance and commitment to improving long-term financial stability.

“This budget reflects our commitment to providing a broad range of services effectively and efficiently,” Boddorf said. “Everything from maintaining local roads, stormwater systems and utilities to providing public safety, recreation and other services was evaluated during budget preparations.”

Tarentum is among 35 municipalities in the state that operate their own electrical distribution systems. The borough purchases electricity wholesale and delivers it to about 2,500 customers, with profits used to supplement general fund operations.

Boddorf recommended to council a five-year plan that would provide more price stability over the life of the supply contract.

“The overall strategy is to raise prices incrementally, whether water, trash or electric. (This) is instead of drastic price increases every couple of years,” he said.

“We are seeing our peers’ prices rise up to 42% in some cases because of the energy market,” Boddorf said. “Making those incremental increases annually helps prevent such a drastic cost increase. The same goes for waste (garbage collection) services.”

Despite the price increase, the borough’s electric distribution system enables it to implement infrastructure and economic development projects that otherwise would be difficult to accomplish without it, Boddorf said.

The garbage hauling charge for residents is expected to increase from $25 to $29 a month.

Commercial prices will remain $35 a month.

A new contract with Waste Management sees prices rising slightly each year, and Boddorf said he wants council to follow suit, as that would provide more consistency for residents and the borough.

Residents can look forward to several potential capital improvement projects next year. They include a traffic signal upgrade at Freeport Road and Grantham Street, riverfront planning, records digitization and ADA ramp installations.

The borough’s main goal is to upgrade its failing water system, where 90% of the pipes are 100 years old.

Council has applied for about $4 million in grants to replace some of the 14 miles of lines which frequently need to be repaired.

Categories: Local | Valley News Dispatch

A flock of several thousand chimney swifts has offered up dazzling aerial displays each evening near a roost site in a chimney at Highlands Elementary School in Tarentum.

Known to some as flying cigars, the 5-inch, gray-brown birds spend most of their time on the wing catching insects.

About 50 people showed up at an Audubon Society pop-up swift-watching event across the street from the school.

The birds amass at sunset, flying in circles before they swirl down the school’s chimney like an inverted puff of smoke.

Chimney swifts assemble in flocks in late summer through early October, spending nights in chimneys and other crevices on their way to South America for the winter.

“This is the best roost I’ve seen in years,” said Dave Brooke, a bird watcher and photographer from Harrison Township.

His wife, Kathy, spotted a “vortex of chimney swifts” above the school while coming over the Tarentum Bridge. Mr. Brooke alerted Jim Bonner, the executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and a Tarentum resident.

They have been watching the swift show since then, and Mr. Bonner invited the public last weekend.

“Not bad for a wild bird in the city,” he said. “They do everything on the wing — eat, court, raise their young.”

The swifts’ chattering “cheeep” calls are a soundtrack of city wildlife in the summer.

Most of these small, dynamic flyers live in towns where there are open chimneys and buildings as well as swift towers dotting local parks. They cling to vertical surfaces for roosting and nesting, hence their attraction to building tops.

You might think they are related to swallows and nighthawks, also common sights in the city, because of the way they fly. That’s not the case.

“Swifts don’t have the ability to stand and walk. They are in the same order as the hummingbird,” Mr. Bonner said. “Did you ever see a hummingbird walk?”

Hummingbirds and swifts both fly with stiff wings, he noted.

“There’s so much about swifts that we don’t know,” Mr. Bonner said. “If you’re looking to do a doctoral thesis, consider.”

With an unusually large mouth, one swift can capture 5,000 flying insects per day, according to research from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve.

Although the birds filled the sky above him, Mr. Bonner was quick to point out that their population has dropped by 72% since about 1970, according to the American Breeding Bird Survey.

The reasons are believed to be fewer insects and the loss of habitat such as natural tree cavities or open chimneys.

In 2018, the Red List of Threatened Species made by the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed chimney swifts as vulnerable. That means swifts are likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening their survival and reproduction improve.

Since 2013, the Audubon Society has erected over 100 swift towers in parks and other green spaces in Allegheny County; there are about 50 others in the region. In 2023, the birds nested in 71 of them, according to Audubon.

To learn more about chimney swifts, visit www.aswp.org.

Mary Ann Thomas: [email protected].

First Published October 4, 2023, 2:30am