by Rich Lord, PublicSource
A developer whose plan was stymied in the spring found success in the summer, as the Urban Redevelopment Authority [URA] board made short work of an agenda dominated by affordable housing-related transactions, including one that aims to transform an abandoned block in Garfield.
Module Design Inc. sought, in April, to buy 11 empty lots via the URA. It planned to build a dozen homes for sale, including three that would be reserved for lower-income households.
Though the homes would repopulate an empty block of Rosetta Street and a swath of Broad Street, the board said that the plan didn’t include enough affordability. That was especially important in a neighborhood in which long-time residents face pressure from increasing property values.
Module returned four months later with a different plan, in which it would build three or four affordable houses among 10 total houses on Rosetta. On Broad, it plans to work with the City of Bridges Community Land Trust to build two affordable houses.
“This will add to the strength of that community, and will also add to the opportunities to make home ownership available to families,” said Richard Snipe, deputy director of the URA-affiliated Pittsburgh Housing Development Corp. He said the eventual buyers of the affordable houses would likely have mortgage payments below $800 per month.
“Garfield should really not just be considered a low-income neighborhood in need of market-rate development at this point,” said URA board Chair Sam Williamson. “It is a really rapidly changing neighborhood where housing prices are increasing and homes are being flipped.”
The board authorized staff to negotiate the sale of nine lots on Rosetta to Module, with two parcels on Broad likely to be the subject of later action.
In a meeting that clocked in at a little more than an hour, the board also:
- Gave final authorization to $16 million in bond borrowing in support of the 68-unit third phase of the renovation of the Northside Properties Residences apartments, which are scattered across Central Northside, California-Kirkbride and Perry South
- Approved the sale of five parcels on Rose Street in the Crawford Roberts section of the Hill District to R. Kyndall Development Group, for construction of six townhouses, including two with guaranteed affordability
- Authorized sales of parcels along Hazelwood Avenue and Chatsworth Avenue to City of Bridges for construction of a dozen houses, all expected to be affordable in the long-term, in a project estimated to cost $4.8 million and to involve multiple subsidies
- Voted for a $750,000 loan to Cleveland-based Salus Development, to help finance a full renovation of the Sheptytsky Arms Apartments, which has 49 affordable units, in Brighton Heights.
Affordable for-sale housing in Oakland, in 2020. The Urban Redevelopment Authority board on Aug. 12, 2021 approved several new transactions aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing in multiple city neighborhoods. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)
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