Sewickley Church Sets Meeting to Discuss 'Pink House' Plans

Neighbors have been invited next week to a dessert discussion regarding plans for church property at the Presbyterian Church, Sewickley, as a result of the  purchase.

Landscaping and parking plans will be discussed as well as external property improvements that have been developed for 202 Beaver St., said Joan Murdoch, church spokeswoman.

Murdoch said the meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 24 is intended for immediate church neighbors and will take place in the  at 414 Grant St.

Many in the community the church's initial plans to demolish the structure and build a new youth and education center on the site. . Tuesday's meeting focuses on the exterior of the church-owned property.

Tom Graham, a member of the church’s governing body, recently told Patch that church leaders were working with architects and getting input from congregants to design a master plan.

“We will be sharing that with neighbors,” Graham said.

The church’s first preliminary meeting with the Sewickley Planning Commission is in August, so the idea is to review the plans prior to submitting them.

Graham said the church also needs to raise funds.

“All along we’ve said that the issue was money. That’s why we said we could not afford to save the house. We’re planning to save the house but, we’ve got to raise the money to do it,” he said.

Organizers of the  submitted a fundraising plan in May to raise about 10 percent of the repurposing costs for the Coyle house.

Save the Pink House organizer Peter Floyd said the group would commit to raising between $160,000 to $200,000 of the roughly $1.6 million needed to renovate the home. The Save the Pink House fundraising committee is comprised of Vince Delie, Jim Bouchard, Don Travis, Rich Webb and Floyd.

The group expects to focus on raising $110,000 through corporate and leadership grants with the remainder from community donations.

"As a group, we consider maintaining and improving the aesthetics and character of the residential neighborhood, in which the Little-Cooper-Coyle property resides, as a top priority," Floyd said. 

Correction: Dinner will not be served as reported in a previous version of this article.