Pennsylvania Grants Funds to Institute for Local Self-Reliance

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Philadelphia will receive a market development grant of nearly $100,000 from the state for a one-year study to assess supply and demand issues and examine market barriers and related opportunities for reusing recovered residential building materials in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The study will serve as a resource for the city of Philadelphia and other
urban areas interested in exploring ways to recover wood and bricks;
architectural salvage such as light fixtures, kitchen cabinets, doors and
moldings; window frames, door frames and flooring; and other building
materials.  Expanding the markets for these products will support emerging
deconstruction and reuse companies in the region.

"Many older homes contain quality building materials and valuable and
attractive architectural artifacts that can be reused," Pa. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Kathleen McGinty says. "Finding creative ways to reuse building materials from older homes will reduce pressure on landfills, provide attractive options for new homebuyers and help revitalize
our urban environment.  Replacing our aging housing stock in older cities and
towns is a vital part of attracting families and investments in home ownership
to create stable neighborhoods."

Finding markets for this recovered residential building material will help
Pennsylvania's environment by keeping such material out of landfills and
create jobs in firms that recover and sell this material for re-use, according to a release from the Pennsylvania DEP.  At the same time, demolishing homes can create environmental problems relating to the disposal of this material, and safety hazards if the material is not removed quickly from the site. Neighborhood safety will be enhanced if there is an economic incentive to remove material from abandoned homes quickly so it can be sold for re-use.

In a pilot project last year, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) came up with a strategy for deconstructing two homes and conducted a
demonstration "architectural salvage" of a third house.  The nonprofit
organization identified a wide range of salvageable materials, researched
existing markets for them and estimated the recovered material retail value at
$8,000.

ILSR and Penn State's Hamer Center for Community Design Assistance will
disseminate the findings of this study throughout the state to inform others
about opportunities for similar material recovery efforts in their regions.

"When entrepreneurs, local officials and families are able to make use of
the information produced by this study, Pennsylvania will establish itself as
a national leader in this new area of urban revitalization," McGinty
says.