THE GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION FOR CEDARWOOD HOMES IN JULY 2024. (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)
Finding “affordable housing” in Pittsburgh is like looking for a World Series run from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It’s hard to find.
From Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration, to the Urban Redevelopment Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, to the department of Housing and Urban Development, these entities are trying to come up with solutions to the affordable housing crisis—a crisis where Pittsburgh City Controller Rachel Heisler said recently that the city needs 11,000 new affordable housing units.
An “affordable housing crisis” affects African Americans primarily. If many African Americans in the city can’t pay the seemingly $350,000 for a home in East Liberty, Highland Park, Point Breeze and Lawrenceville, and if they can’t pay the seemingly $1,500 for a one-bedroom market-rate apartment in Shadyside or Bakery Square, then the result is they go elsewhere—like McKees Rocks, Wilkinsburg, Wilmerding, Turtle Creek, and other places outside city limits that keep shrinking Pittsburgh’s Black population.
Over the past few months, however, there have been some victories in the affordable housing crisis fight.
YAAKOV GOLDMAN AND ISAAC SASSOON OF TRYKO PARTNERS SPEAK WITH SISTER MARY BARBOUR ABOUT THE NEW CEDARWOOD HOMES IN THE WEST END. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
In April, the URA announced that it would convert two buildings in Downtown Pittsburgh to affordable housing. The two buildings are the Triangle Building (926 Liberty Avenue), and the First and Market Building (100 First Avenue). The URA said the two projects would create 108 new residential “affordable” units Downtown, 93 of which would come from the First and Market Building, which would be designated as senior housing. Fifteen units would be “affordable” in the Triangle Building.
“Downtown is the heart and soul of the entire region, and these conversion projects are a critical piece of making sure that Downtown remains that way for generations to come,” said Mayor Gainey, in a statement provided to the New Pittsburgh Courier. “Everyone who works Downtown, should have an opportunity to live Downtown, and as we move to transform historic office space into housing, we must have affordability in mind in order to build a Downtown for all.”
In July, officials celebrated the grand opening of Cedarwood Homes, a 46-unit senior housing community in Fairywood (West End). It’s on the site of the former Fairywood School. All but seven of the units are classified as “affordable,” meaning the cost for each unit is based off a person’s annual income (80, 60 or 50 percent of the Area Median Income). There will be an onsite community building, serving as the site for financial literacy, nutrition and exercise programs, health screenings, and other support services designed specifically for seniors. There will also be walkable, park-like green spaces and ample parking. A PRT bus stop is also located in front of the property at 1862 Broadhead Fording Road.
The Cedarwood Homes property is a result of public-private partnership, meaning the URA teamed with private developer Tryko Partners to make it all happen. A nine percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit was awarded by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and secured by Merchants Capital. Approximately $2.1 million in gap financing funding, along with 24 project-based Section 8 vouchers, were provided by the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh.
“Thanks to funding through HACP’s Project-Based Voucher/Gap Financing program, the HACP is able to support these innovative affordable housing developments like Cedarwood Homes in communities across the city,” HACP Executive Director Caster Binion said in a statement provided to the Courier. “With this model, we are using every tool at our discretion in order to meet the growing demand for affordable housing.”
“Cedarwood Homes is a benchmark example of how we can support Pittsburgh’s most vulnerable seniors,” said Isaac Sassoon, Esq., senior vice president at Tryko Partners, in a statement provided to the Courier. “The response to this project is clear justification for providing quality, well-located affordable housing options as well as essential services for the city’s older lower-income residents.”
Elected officials like Mayor Gainey, City Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, state Sen. Wayne Fontana and state Rep. Dan Deasy were also on hand to celebrate the occasion. Officials at Tryko said currently, more than 85 percent of the units are occupied.
In the affordable housing crisis fight, the aforementioned developments could be considered “wins.” But Heisler, the Pittsburgh City Controller, said in early August that she felt the city should do more with the money it allots in its Housing Opportunity Fund. Heisler, in an 2022 audit released on Aug. 1, 2024, said most of the $10 million a year in the city’s HOF goes to rental and first-time homebuyer assistance, but not to developing new affordable housing.
“Specifically, the URA does not appear to be using HOF money to build new housing in the most effective way possible, which should be one of our highest priorities,” Heisler said on Aug. 1 following the audit release. “There’s no doubt that HOF programs are helping people in meaningful ways. But the bottom line is that we have a significant shortage of affordable housing units in the City of Pittsburgh. That’s been true for some time – it’s one of the biggest reasons the HOF was created in the first place – but our report suggests that this funding is not solving that problem and expanding our affordable housing supply at the scale we need.”
The URA has said to expect more announcements in the coming months about new affordable housing developments within Pittsburgh. Mayor Gainey, for one, made affordable housing a main sticking point in his campaign to become the city’s leader. He celebrated in late July four three-bedroom apartments that were deemed as affordable on Bennett Street in Homewood. It’s dubbed, “Benedict Dwellings,” led by Tina Daniels, owner of WNT Daniels Development Group and Concrete Rose Construction.
The families in the apartments come from the hookup with the non-profit Pittsburgh Scholar House, which is led by Courier “Fab 40” and “Woman of Excellence” recipient Dr. Diamonte Walker.
“Projects like this are the lifeblood of Pittsburgh’s community revitalization,” Dr. Walker said. Having affordable housing “for families that are working towards a more prosperous future is something that has to be a top priority for the city and the region.”
