Ambridge Borough asks school board to exonerate two parcels as it outlines plans for 12-acre redevelopment

Mario Leon, speaking for Ambridge Borough, told the Ambridge Area School District board the borough is asking the district to consider tax exoneration on two parcels totaling 12 acres — a 4-acre outdoor recreation site already in use and an 8-acre vacant tract the borough says it wants to develop for a multigenerational senior-and-recreation facility.

Leon said the borough "secured $4,500,000 in RCAP state funding for it, and we have another 5,000,000 currently pending in grants," and estimated the facility could be "in the about 9 to $16,000,000 range," adding the work could be done in phases depending on grant receipts.

Leon described near-term uses for the 4-acre parcel (outdoor fitness court, trees, corn-hole area and plans for pickleball and bocce courts) and said the 8-acre tract is currently vacant. He said the borough expects the indoor-sports portion likely would be operated by a contractor rather than the borough itself, and that any revenue generated might help service project debt or, if development included taxable uses above the facility (for example, apartments), generate tax dollars for both the borough and the district.

The borough representative also outlined complementary projects tied to the redevelopment plan: an EPA area-wide brownfield grant supporting feasibility and design work on a former fly-ash dump; a $1.9 million grant for improvements on the Eighth Street corridor; and a proposed "Nineteenth Street Bypass" the borough is coordinating with PennDOT to divert large trucks away from Route 989 and the high school.

On property acquisition, Leon said the borough has worked with Reclaim of Beaver County (a nonprofit) which received a $500,000 grant for blight remediation and will demolish three properties in Ambridge; the borough is pursuing acquisition of five parcels so they can be aggregated and offered for redevelopment. Leon said two of the properties have deceased owners and that pursuing title through estates would be costly and time-consuming, which is why the borough has used the repository process for some parcels.

Board members asked whether the district had been involved in planning for shared uses and expressed concern about duplication of facilities in nearby municipalities. Leon said the borough intends to engage the district in upcoming feasibility work and welcomed further dialogue on needs and shared programming.

Next steps noted in the discussion included additional feasibility work funded by EPA grants, further outreach to district administrators and consultants reaching out to the district for comments; the board did not take a final vote on the borough's exoneration request during the meeting.