Future of Herbst House in Sewickley to be decided April 11

Sewickley council plans to take action on a request to tear down a former Catholic school in the borough’s historic district.

The future of the Herbst House, an old convent and private residence along Broad Street that has stood for more than 137 years, is expected to be decided at a meeting April 11.

The borough received a letter from the Diocese of Pittsburgh requesting elected leaders put the matter on the agenda after talks with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation stagnated.

Parish and foundation officials were in discussions for months about possible restoration efforts after council tabled taking action on the request in September.

Council president Cynthia Mullins confirmed receipt of the letter and shared a copy of it with the Tribune-Review via email. She declined further comment until the April meeting.

“The parish, acting in good faith, agreed that its request be temporarily tabled in order to allow the borough time to study the issue by having its engineer review the property and issue a report on the safety of the structure,” the letter read in part.

It also referenced talks with foundation officials, borough representatives and others “concerning a number of ideas” for the property.

“Unfortunately, none of those discussions has led to a proposed outcome that realistically satisfies all concerns of the parish,” the letter read.

The Divine Redeemer Parish includes St. James Church in Sewickley and St. Mary’s church in Aleppo.

The house was built in the late 1800s and owned by D.C. Herbst, of the Independent Natural Gas Co. and Standard Oil Co.

The home was sold to the church in the early 1900s for $12,000. It became the first home of St. James School when it was dedicated on Dec. 6, 1913, according to church records.

The three-story mansion has been vacant for about three decades. It has deteriorated, primarily due to water penetration from the roof. Vegetation also reclaimed a portion of the property.

Parish officials estimated restoration costs to be in excess of $3.7 million.

The Rev. Brian Noel said via email that council needs to act so the parish has some direction on its next steps with the property. He also stressed the efforts by the parish in gathering public input before pressing elected leaders.

“Since last year’s presentations, we have had several meetings with community leaders and members of the (foundation) hoping for a resolution,” Noel said. “Without a clear one in sight, and while the structure continually presents a serious safety risk to the community, we could not let the matter languish.”

The Diocese letter stated a borough engineer partially fell through the Herbst House floor during his inspection, and was able to catch himself and prevent serious injury. It did not name the engineer.

“The risk of severe injury to someone attempting to access the structure is the very thing that we expressed concern about at the public hearing in which we sought a demolition permit,” the letter read.

Borough engineer Michael Galet said a final report has not been completed, and declined to address the reports of a fall.

“Our structural engineer is in the process of preparing a written report and has requested additional access to the property to help develop his findings,” Galet said. “We are waiting for a response from the Diocese. I am unable to provide any further comments until the report is completed.”

Sewickley Historic Review Commission unanimously voted on Aug. 1 to recommend denying the demolition request.

The commission recommends what should and should not be done in the borough’s historic district. A final decision is made by council.

Approved changes to structures to properties in the historic district are routinely granted certificates of appropriateness.