WINNIE EVANS speaks at the announcement of a new midrise coming to Northview Heights. She’s lived in Northview since 1969. (Photo by Rob Taylor Jr.)
Replaces high rise that was built in 1962
As city officials announced the construction of a new midrise in Northview Heights, the one person who stood out in the bevy of speakers was the matriarch of Northview. The person who’s seen it all, good, bad or indifferent, in Northview.
Winnie Evans probably will be the first person to enter the new 43-unit senior midrise that’s scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2027. She’s looking forward to enjoying the new building.
“It’s a long time coming,” she told the New Pittsburgh Courier on June 8, the date of the announcement. “I appreciate it, and I love it.”
Evans moved to Northview Heights on the North Side in 1969 with her children. She’s been a Northview resident ever since, almost 60 years.
“It’s a good community; some good, bad like all the communities,” she told the Courier. “But I love it. I raised my kids here, grandkids, I have great grandkids…”
There was no way the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and city officials could announce this new building construction without Evans. She was there with another longtime Northview resident, Rochell Preston. Both Preston and Evans are members of the Northview Heights Senior Tenant Council.
Evans told the Courier she’s been volunteering in Northview since 1969. Everyone knows her, she’s been on countless boards, and her advocacy for the neighborhood is well-docuemented. For years, the community has been fighting for a new building to replace the current high rise that has nearly 90 units. The high rise was built in 1962.
Evans talked to the Courier about the building’s elevators being broken from time to time, balconies having to be fixed, etc.
“It’s just deteriorating,” Evans said.
“This is a great investment in the Northview Heights community,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor, who was present at the announcement on the Northview grounds. “This has been home to many residents and families for decades and this new midrise building will provide new, accessible housing and create new opportunities for affordability in the City of Pittsburgh.”
“We are honored to be sharing this meaningful occasion with residents, community partners, elected officials, and stakeholders as we dedicate a new chapter for Northview Heights,” added Caster Binion, the Housing Authority’s Executive Director. “We are here to celebrate the progress and recognize the partnerships and residents who continue to shape the future of affordable housing in Pittsburgh.”
The cost of the new Northview Midrise project is $22.6 million. The four-story building will provide 43 units—seven two-bedroom and 36 one-bedroom units—on nearly four acres of land. Residents of the Northview Heights high rise will be relocated following construction. Binion said that the HACP purchased a building to house the senior residents who won’t be relocating to the new building, as there is a 44-unit difference between the old building (87 units) and the new building (43 units).
“This was a very, very difficult process, we really had to fight for this,” Binion said about getting the permits and financing for the new building. “But we knew that the residents, where they are staying right now, the building had challenges, and we knew that we had to provide new buildings for them.”
Some amenities in the new building include a community room with a kitchenette, on-site property management office space, a computer room, a multi-purpose room, and bike storage space. Nearly 4,500-square-feet of commercial space will be located on the ground floor to provide additional services to residents. The space will be split into two units, with one possible space leased by resident supportive services and another for yet-to-be-determined tenants.
The project is being developed by Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation, the HACP’s development arm, with assistance from CitiBank, Fukui Architects, The Richman Group, Franjo Construction, Controlled Climate Systems, W.G. Tomko; Uzmack Electric, and TREK Development Group. “Back in the ‘60s, I lived in a row house on Bennett Street,” said Michelle Sandidge, Chief Community Affairs Officer for the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh. “When we came up here to see my aunt and cousins who lived in Northview Heights, we thought we were in the suburbs, because everything was so nice and different. It looked so different from where we came from in Homewood, so I am looking forward to this being the first phase, and to have next phases come up where we can reinvent the Northview Heights community to what it was and what it will be.”