Mercer County Housing Authority condemned 17 properties owned by an affiliate agency Monday in hopes of clearing their titles for use in the redevelopment of Steel City Terrace, Farrell.

The properties were bought at tax sale by Community Homebuyers Inc., the non-profit affiliate of the authority.

The authority and its development partner, Ralph A. Falbo Inc., Pittsburgh, have torn down much of the existing Steel City public housing complex and has begun building new public housing units and apartment for rent at closer to the market rate.

The project is called HOPE 6 because of the federal program under which it is being conducted.

The condemned properties would be part of a future construction phase to build homes for sale and rent.

The developers plan to build 74 public housing units, 45 apartments for rent at closer to the market rate and 26 homes for sale.

The properties CHI bought are vacant or have structures on them that are not in livable condition. In many cases, the owners have died and their heirs did not keep up the properties.

Solicitor William Madden said most of the property owners lost their properties through tax sale 30 to 80 years ago.

But, the owners or heirs could file claims on the properties if the titles are not cleaned up.

Madden said there are two ways to obtain clear title: sue each owner and heir in a quiet title action, or condemn the properties and take them through eminent domain.

Eminent domain is a shorter and less costly alternative, Madden said.

While a private buyer cannot use eminent domain, public entities, such as the authority and governments are eligible, he said.

With the authority's action, Madden will file the proper paper work at the Mercer County Courthouse, each property will be posted with a notice of condemnation, and an advertisement will run noting the eminent domain action has been filed.

"We will wait 30 days and, if no one objects, it's over," he said.

Should an owner or heir object successfully, and the authority has to pay a claim, the authority only would have to pay today's market value, Madden said.

"In many cases, that's a vacant lot on Wallis Avenue," said Madden, giving the odds of a successful objection at 100,000 to 1.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at jpinchot@sharonherald.com