The Urban Redevelopment Authority has approved $2.1 million in loans for the 85-unit first phase of housing that is part of the massive Larimer rebuilding plan.
The development plan has already won Choice Neighborhood funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
“The redevelopment strategy includes the replacement of 155 units of deteriorated federally subsidized housing with the new construction of 334 units of mixed-income rental housing, intermixed into the Larimer /East Liberty communities over a seven-year period,” said URA Housing Director Tom Cummings. “The phase one development includes 85 total units of which 56 are considered replacement units.”
The bulk of the 85 units, slated to occupy 18 buildings, will be reserved for people making less than 60 percent of the area median income. The 6.2-acre development site includes the former footprints of the Auburn Towers and Liberty Park high rises in Larimer and East Liberty.
The cost of entire revisioning plan, complete with businesses, parks, and streets is estimated at $300 million.
Although generally supportive, board member Jim Ferlo, disliked some of the building design work, objecting primarily to the size, and location of proposed structures along East Liberty Boulevard and Larimer Avenue, saying it looks like they are “building the Berlin Wall on the corner.”
Larimer Consensus Group Treasurer Donna Jackson said the design was in line with neighborhood feedback. “This is a direct response to the desires of community,” she responded.
The 85 units are to be completed by December 2016.
And on the subject of housing, the board also approved up to $80,000 for Washington, DC-based, Randall Gross/Development Economics to consult on the Greater Hill District Housing Study in cooperation with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, the Department of City Planning and the Graves Design Group.
The survey will include analysis of existing housing stock and projected need based on type, income level, rental vs. for-sale, affordable vs. market rate, etc. The study will also include recommendations on how to support residents in their homes as development increases housing values, identification of development sectors and recommendations on funding strategies to develop economically and demographically inclusive neighborhoods.
“This study will help to inform a vision for the appropriate mix of housing development for the Hill District that seeks to create an economically diverse community while also expanding the tax base of the City,” said Cummings.
The project is expected to be completed within nine months.
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
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