PITTSBURGH — In an ongoing investigation into the city of Pittsburgh’s management of thousands of condemned buildings, 11 Investigates has uncovered an underperforming demolition program and a growing list of city residents who are fed up with neighboring dilapidated homes and businesses.
Despite millions of dollars allocated for city-funded demolitions in 2025, the city is bidding out significantly fewer jobs than in recent years.
11 Investigates has repeatedly requested sit-down interviews with city officials to better understand why. Those requests have gone unanswered.
11 Investigates submitted a right-to-know request to the city, which yielded hundreds of emails sent this year, to and between staff members and officials with the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections.
We found repeated examples of city residents and city staff warning officials about buildings on the brink of collapse that ended up collapsing before the city tore them down.
Take the old American Legion building on Hatteras Street in Troy Hill, for example. The back wall collapsed in April of this year. At the time, neighbors told Channel 11 the wall had been separating from the building for “at least six months,” and they had been trying desperately to get city officials’ attention about it.
11 Investigates obtained a March 27 email with an attached photo showing the wall pulling away from the building. It was sent to PLI officials, warning them the building was ready to collapse.
On April 3, a city staffer flagged the building again, forwarding a photo of the wall separating from the building along with neighbor insight that “it is getting worse pretty rapidly.”
On April 4, a PLI supervisor sent an email about the building to other PLI officials stating, “The collapse seems to be progressing rapidly... however there are no buildings in the rear of the building to collapse onto and plenty of mature trees to catch the collapse.”
The email went on to say, “I’m not sure if it warrants immediate City Funded Demo, however it is dangerous and falling.”
The building collapsed the next day.
City records show that emergency demolition cost the city around $77,000.
It’s unknown how much the demolition would have cost if the city had the building demolished prior to the partial collapse, but experts tell Channel 11 that demolitions are significantly more expensive when the building has already started collapsing and requires quick mobilization and building stabilization prior to demolition, as was the case with the old American Legion building.
11 Investigates discussed the challenges with the city’s management of condemned properties and city-funded demolitions. He addressed how his administration will tackle the problem. You can watch that story here.
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