Project PA Hemp Home 

The residence at 506 Spruce Street, New Castle, PA, 16101 was offered at the June 26, 2020 Lawrence County Pennsylvania Judicial (free and clear) Sale.  DON purchased the property at the sale for $2,941.25.  At the time of the tax sale, DON was involved in a number of different housing grant projects and had the intention to completely renovate a blighted property using a majority of hemp-based materials.  To find a property suitable for the project, DON created a list of approximately 30 blighted residences.  DON obtained further grants to achieve its goal.  Certain grant funds DON received were restricted to a specific geographic area only and that restriction is what ultimately led DON to choose the residence at 506 Spruce for the project.  Once the work of deconstructing 506 Spruce Street began, it was discovered that the home had extensive termite and carpenter ant damage throughout the entire structure and, in fact, was in much worse shape than originally thought.  The termite/ant damage was so severe that 90% of the structural wood framing had to be replaced during construction.  At one point, the house needed to be lifted on jacks to replace the beams.  By the end of the project, the formerly vacant, dilapidated residence at 506 Spruce was transformed into a completely remodeled, essentially brand-new eco-friendly home.