URA to provide funding for affordable housing projects in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority has approved funding to support affordable housing initiatives in the city’s South Oakland, East Hills and East Liberty neighborhoods, as well as a loan to help upgrade affordable senior apartments in the Central North Side.

This comes as city leaders have said they are working to address what many have called an affordable housing crisis in Pittsburgh.

In South Oakland, the Oakland Planning and Development Corp. is looking to renovate six single-family homes for for-sale affordable housing, said Victoria Jackson, a lending analyst with the URA.

The properties — all located on Edith Place — will be sold for $128,500 each, Jackson said. They will be designated as affordable housing for people making at or below 80% of the area median income.

Each house has two bedrooms and one bathroom, according to information provided by the URA.

The URA board authorized a $420,000 grant to help the Oakland Planning and Development Corp. rehabilitate the homes.

The total development cost is expected to be more than $1.2 million, Jackson said.

“It’s great for us to have six community land-trust homes all in one block,” said Wanda Wilson, executive director of the Oakland Planning and Development Corp. “It’ll make a big impact on that area.”

The organization plans to market the houses during the renovation process and expects they’ll be on the market by January, according to information from the URA.

The URA board on Thursday also unanimously voted to approve two $70,000 grants to City of Bridges Community Land Trust for work they are doing to fix up a home in East Hills and another in East Liberty.

Both homes will be sold to households making at or below 80% of the area median income, Jackson said.

Renovations on both properties are expected to begin within 60 days, she said.

The East Liberty property, located on Borland Street, is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home that will be sold for $125,000. The East Hills property, located on Rolfe Street, has two bedrooms and one-and-a-half bathrooms. It is slated to be sold for $112,000.

The board also unanimously approved a $385,000 loan for renovations at Arch Court Apartments, affordable housing units for seniors in the Central North Side.

“These (renovations) include a complete redesign to the kitchens in all units, new roll-in showers, new floor tiling in the shared community space, as well as automatic door installations in the building’s front and rear entrances,” said Niklas Persson, an analyst with the URA.

The upgrades aim to make the housing units more ADA compliant, he said.

The 30 housing units at the building are designated to remain affordable for seniors making no more than 30% of the area median income, Persson said.

Construction is scheduled to begin in January and last six to eight months. Residents will not have to leave the building while the construction takes place.