Riverview Senior Living, a rehabbed Highlands elementary school, expected to open in spring

The conversion of a former Highlands elementary school into affordable housing for senior citizens is scheduled to be completed by spring.

Riverview Senior Living — a nod to the district’s Riverview Elementary, which operated through most of the 1900s — will provide 31 one- and two-bedroom apartments for people 62 and older. It sits at the corner of 11th and California avenues in Harrison.

It fills a growing need in Allegheny County, where nearly 20% of the 1.25 million residents are 65 or older, according to U.S. Census data. The county is second in the country to Palm Beach County, Fla., for its population of senior citizens.

Lance Chimka, county economic development director, said the Riverview project will provide high-quality affordable homes in a park-like setting. He said it’s also a great adaptive reuse of a historic building.

“It will provide stability to that residential community by repurposing the vacant building,” Chimka said.

Renters will qualify if they earn less than 60% of the median area income, which would amount to about $38,940. The median Allegheny County income is about $64,900, according to the most recent census data.

“The retention of the name Riverview is very meaningful to the long-term residents and former students of Harrison,” township Commissioner Chuck Dizard said. “The facility will provide a safe and secure retirement living environment for local senior citizens. It has been beautifully restored and will perpetuate the nostalgia, as well as being an important and valuable investment in the township’s quality of life.”

The cost of the project is about $10 million. It was made possible through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, created in 1986 as a federal subsidy that delivers tax credits to developers in return for construction or rehab of affordable housing.

“We have a huge waiting list,” said Andy Haines, vice president of Gatesburg Road Development, which has overseen eight similar projects across the state. “There are about 400 people who have expressed interest.”

Construction began in late 2020, with doors expected to open in April. Rather than raze the nearly century-old building, the developers had it gutted and renovated.

A three-story addition will double its original size.

“We’ll be full by June,” Haines said.

Covid-related delays have added about three months to the project. Poole Anderson Construction, a sister company to Gatesburg, has a crew of about 100 on-site every day.

Riverview Elementary operated from 1925 to 1980. It later housed the district’s administrative offices before being sold in 2014 to a small group of local investors who hoped to turn it into an assisted living facility.

“Three other guys and I bought it from the school district, but once we got into it, it was a lot more involved than we realized,” said Harrison resident John Barch.

A Highlands graduate, he recalled the former Riverview Elementary as “the building that offered shop classes in the basement.”

“We were real glad the developer was able to take this over and offer this housing,” he said. “This is the best thing that could’ve happened for the area.”

At Riverview, Haines said residents can look forward to amenities that include a fitness room, a part-time support service coordinator, health screenings and a community kitchen for events like a large Thanksgiving dinner.

For many, watching workers bring new life to the building has been exhilarating.

Cynthia Adams is a retired Highlands schoolteacher whose first teaching assignment was at Riverview 51 years ago.

“I just think it’s a wonderful thing,” she said.

Adams said she can recall her first day at Riverview being greeted by a whopping 37 students in her first-grade classroom.

She said the entire school collaborated on a jungle-themed hallway painting that helped teach young students the alphabet through bright, joyful sketches.

“That’s the one thing I’ll never forget,” Adams said. “It brought such joy to the young kids.”

An avid walker, Adams said she passes the project daily during early morning jaunts and said it rarely fails to stir nostalgia.

“The windows are still there, and I can still see my classroom,” she said. “It will be someone’s new home, an opportunity for families.

“I’m glad they didn’t let it sit empty, and I’m glad they didn’t raze it. It’s going to help so many.”

Low Income Housing Tax Credits remain a primary vehicle for the production of new affordable senior units across the county, Chimka said.

The county plans to continue partnering with public and private developers to increase accessibility of affordable housing for senior citizens and families, he said.

Other senior living facilities recently ushered in with the help of tax credits include the 52-unit Emerald Hills Retirement Residence on Saltsburg Road in Penn Hills. There also is the 60-unit Dorchester in Mt. Lebanon.