(News)

A scruffy entrance to Downtown will get a new look with help from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

The group has agreed to help design a "community garden" near the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge, partly at the request of UPMC McKeesport hospital, the city's largest employer.

A general cleanup of the area where Fifth Avenue and Lysle Boulevard intersect is also planned to improve the city's appearance to hospital employees and visitors, Mayor James Brewster says.

"Right now, when people come into town to visit their loved ones, the area they see is in disrepair," he says.

. . .

"This may seem like a small thing, but (UPMC officials) have been clear that it would make a profound difference," Brewster says. "The relationship between the city and the hospital is important, but delicate."

The city is also facilitating negotiations between UPMC McKeesport and "two or three" property owners of blighted or empty nearby buildings in hopes that they will sell, he says.

"We're making some progress," Brewster says. "We want to maintain our hospital and the services they provide."

City officials are meeting monthly with UPMC McKeesport President Cynthia Dorundo and other hospital representatives, he says.

UPMC McKeesport spokeswoman Claire Daday did not return a phone call from the Almanac seeking comment.

. . .

City officials, area residents and hospital employees have been nervous about the future of UPMC McKeesport since longtime president and chief executive Ronald Ott resigned in 2008.

Since then, UPMC has closed its hospitals in Braddock and on Pittsburgh's South Side and begun construction of a new hospital in Monroeville.

Both Pittsburgh's South Side and Braddock --- like McKeesport --- are older, urban communities, while Monroeville is a more affluent suburb. The Monroeville hospital is also expected to serve many of the same communities presently served by UPMC McKeesport.

. . .

Yet despite persistent rumors that UPMC McKeesport will be downsized, the region's dominant health system has pledged to keep the facility open.

In April, the hospital's chief financial officer told a meeting of community leaders that UPMC McKeesport was "doing well from a financial standpoint," according to the Daily News.

The 275-bed hospital (including 56 skilled-nursing beds) offers a 24-hour emergency room, general surgery and intensive and cardiac care.

. . .

Under a $2,500 contract approved Wednesday night by city council, the Pittsburgh-based conservancy will provide oversight and planning guidance.

However, Judy Wagner, senior director for community gardens and greenspace, says the conservancy won't be planting or maintaining the garden area. Instead, it will work with city leaders to identify local groups interested in taking ownership, she says.

"We get a lot of feedback from people who say that these make a big difference to their community," Wagner says. "What we also hear is that people really feel good about pitching into help."

"It's a pretty wonderful feeling when residents plant something and then come back in a few weeks and see it blooming," she says.

. . .

Founded in the 1930s, the conservancy currently provides assistance and oversight for 140 community gardens in 20 Pennsylvania counties stretching from Erie to Waynesburg and Altoona. About 10,000 volunteers annually maintain those gardens, which are seen by about 3.5 million motorists every year, according to the conservancy.

The garden at the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge would not be the conservancy's first city project. A garden on the grounds of Auberle at the intersection of O'Neil and Eden Park boulevards is also overseen by the conservancy.

"We have a lot of experience knowing what sorts of plants will thrive, and we can also come up with cost estimates on construction and maintenance," Wagner says.

. . .

The targeted sites haven't yet been chosen, though the grassy areas inside the interchange between the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge and Fifth Avenue are possibilities, Wagner says.

"I wouldn't assume that would be the only site we would look at," Wagner says. "We'll do a quick traffic assessment and try to identify locations with the heaviest traffic flow both coming in and going out."

Ideal locations are those that can be seen by motorists and pedestrians traveling in either direction, she says.

If several blighted properties along Lysle and Fifth are demolished, they, too, could become gardens, Brewster says.

. . .

"We've made a promise to UPMC McKeesport to dress up the entire area," he says.

City public works employees also will be directed to clean the area around the World War II-vintage tank at the intersection of Fifth and Lysle, Brewster says.

Before any construction takes place, the conservancy will present design and cost information at a public meeting. The finished proposal is due before Dec. 31.

. . .

If all goes well, Wagner says it's possible that planting could begin this fall "if fundraising permits" and the city identifies willing volunteers.

"We'll provide really, really clear guidance as to what will keep this site in the very best of shape," she says. "We want it to be a sustainable site that will be there for a long time."