Pittsburgh’s Housing Authority is set to add nearly $2 million to a plan to convert a dowdy Downtown building into a novel take on affordable housing. The authority is also preparing to buy a 100-unit Homewood complex for older adults.
A Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh push to create affordable Downtown housing focused on single-parent students will get a boost of nearly $2 million following a board vote Thursday. The development near the Roberto Clemente Bridge builds on the city’s push to add affordable housing in the Golden Triangle.
The HACP’s board of commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to allocate an additional $1.85 million toward redeveloping an old steam plant Downtown into 97 affordable units, a move that housing authority officials said was necessary to cover rising construction costs and high interest rates.
Excerpt:
‘We don’t just see this as housing’
The site of the forthcoming affordable housing development, 120 Cecil Place, originally housed Pittsburgh Allegheny County Thermal’s steam operations, which heated many Downtown buildings.
Converting a development from one use to another brings a number of challenges — as evidenced by office-to-residential conversions, which are only feasible for a small selection of commercial office buildings nationwide.
The steam building’s status as a historic building coupled with the need to include wraparound services — such as childcare and counseling — for residents into the redevelopment of the building added to that challenge, said JW Kim, the authority’s chief development officer.
HACP is helping to fund the work of Boston-based developer Beacon Communities, which is already undertaking the conversion of two other developments Downtown with the support of HACP funds: First and Market, located at 100 First Ave., and 901-903 Liberty Ave. The board’s vote brings the authority’s total investment in Cecil Place to $4.9 million, and the conversion is expected to be complete by 2028.
Roughly half of the units at Cecil Place will be reserved for low-income, single parents who pursue two- or four-year college degrees. The parents and their children will be supported by Pittsburgh Scholar House through on-site childcare, career and counseling services.
“One of our core missions is self-sufficiency,” said HACP Executive Director Caster Binion. “This right here is a vehicle to lead to that.”
The scholar house model historically includes a transition process for participants once they’ve completed their program, said HACP communications manager Chuck Rohrer.
It’s also the only Downtown development currently supported by the HACP where residents could make up to 80% of the area median income and still be eligible for rental assistance via the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits program. Typically, this federal funding mechanism sets eligibility at up to 60%. But at 120 Cecil, the housing authority will use what’s called income averaging to create a range of affordability throughout the building.
“We don’t just see this as housing,” said HACP’s Kim. “This is a catalytic project for Downtown conversion.”