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Developer presents LERTA plan for 4‑acre Sparrow parcel; board asks for business case and timeline
Summary
Glenn Yawka, owner of Sparrow, asked the Bethel Park SD board for guidance on pursuing LERTA/LERDA tax abatement for a two‑phase redevelopment (phase 1: site work and a 6,400 sq ft building; phase 2: two larger mixed‑use buildings). Board members requested assessed‑value impact, demolition effects, and recommended a formal LERTA district process before approving abatements.
Glenn Yawka, who identified himself as owner of Sparrow, presented a redevelopment proposal for roughly four acres near Broadnett Library Road and asked the board for guidance about tax abatement under local LERTA/LERDA programs.
Yawka said he hopes to begin phase 1 at the end of spring or early summer and described phase 1 as mainly site work — including two underground detention tanks, parking improvements to cure long‑standing nonconforming conditions, new sidewalks and lighting, and construction of a 6,400‑square‑foot single‑story building that could house up to four tenants. He said phase 2 would include two larger buildings (estimated $13–14 million to finish) and that total project investment would likely be about $20–22 million; he estimated the completed development would contain about 30 multifamily apartments and create roughly 200 jobs.
Board members and staff pressed Yawka for fiscal details. A board attendee cited an assessed value of $2,351,100 for the parcel’s current improvements; Yawka said he had assessment figures compiled by Allegheny Economic Development but had not yet filed any LERTA/LERDA applications. He also acknowledged that phase 1 would demolish three residences and phase 2 would remove additional residences, raising the prospect of near‑term loss of taxable value as well as tax abatement on new construction.
A staff member recommended the applicant begin the formal LERTA district process immediately if summer construction is the goal. The staff explanation noted that each taxing authority must set up (or endorse) an alerted district, that a public meeting is required to establish the district’s contours, and that ordinance or resolution approvals and an application review can take several months. The staff advised the applicant to prepare a proposed district boundary and a business case — including an estimate of revenue impacts and the size of any funding gap — before the board considers an abatement request.
The board did not vote on an abatement. Members encouraged the applicant to provide a clearer business case, full assessed‑value documentation, and a proposed LERTA district boundary for future consideration.
