Housing authority's Irwin project delayed

Groundbreaking for Westmoreland County Housing Authority’s 50-unit apartment building in Irwin that would be designated for senior citizens will be delayed until late October as the agency finishes the financing for the estimated $12 million project, an authority official said.

Irwin Borough has issued the housing authority a building permit for Grand View Senior Residences, which is to be built off Laurel Avenue and behind the Norwin Public Library on Caruthers Lane, but the authority has not yet closed on its financing for the project, said Michael Washowich, housing authority executive director.

Earlier this year, authority officials anticipated starting the project in late August or September.

The project will be funded through the sale of federal tax credits to investors, plus a $2 million low-interest loan and a $1.5 million contribution from Westmoreland County. The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency in October 2021 approved $10 million in federal tax credits to be used for that development in Irwin.

The authority formed a limited partnership with Boston Financial, an investment firm, to secure financing for the project.

The plans to build an apartment building on the Irwin section of the property drew heavy criticism from North Huntingdon residents living along Laurel Avenue and Caruthers Lane, and those living along Deerfield Drive, whose backyards are on a hillside whose slope would be cut for the construction of the four-story building.

Some of those residents, including North Huntingdon Township commissioner Zachary Haigis, expressed their opposition to Irwin Borough’s approval of the site plan. Borough council, however, approved the plan in April.

The apartment building is intended for senior citizens age 62 and older. Three of the units will be designated for low-income residents, and veterans will be given preference for eight units. Four of the apartments will have two bedrooms.

Authority officials repeated, in meetings in North Huntingdon and Irwin, that the apartments will be available to all county residents and local residents can not be given a preference.