(May 15, 2017) – Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPB), in partnership with the Westmoreland County Land Bank, is providing seed money to Adelphoi USA for the development of a pocket park on Ligonier Street in Latrobe. The site is a former bakery that has been vacant for nearly a decade. Adelphoi will work with the Land Bank to transform the vacant lot into an area that will include benches, herb gardens, lighting and iron flower sculptures. Youth from Adelphoi will participate in the project by assisting in the design, construction, and maintenance.  

“It really is encouraging when we have so many different people and organizations come together to make truly a wonderful project happen,” said April Kopas, Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Westmoreland, the entity that demolished the unsafe commercial structure that once stood on the site.  “We have been actively involved with several projects in Latrobe since they have joined the Land Bank, and this collaborative effort with officials of the City of Latrobe and Adelphoi make this ‘blight to bright’ project possible”.  

“Community revitalization is so critical but resources are limited. When it comes to community greening, a little can go a long way by coordinating investments with economic and community planning already underway and then engaging local community organizations to nurture long-term community stewardship. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is honored to provide assistance with the development of this pocket park and we look forward to seeing the transformation from a bighted property to a valuable asset for the City of Latrobe as well as for the local residents,” said Shannon Reiter, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful President.
Latrobe Mayor, Rosie Wolford, added, “We are so fortunate to have Adelphoi and their students dedicating their time, ideas, and energy to our community”.  

The Community Foundation of Westmoreland provided $5,000 from its Revitalizing Westmoreland Fund and KPB provided $2,000 for the pocket park project.  “Thank you to the project funders –the Community Foundation of Westmoreland and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful- for investing in this valuable and visible community asset”, said Kopas.