Government
How will another $10 million impact affordable housing? A breakdown of the 2019 Housing Opportunity Fund plan
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER — Pittsburgh City Council unanimously approved a second annual spending plan for the $10 million Housing Opportunity Fund [HOF]. The programs, managed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority [URA], tackle various affordable housing issues in Pittsburgh.
By Tom Lisi, PublicSource
Pittsburgh City Council unanimously approved a second annual spending plan for the $10 million Housing Opportunity Fund [HOF]. The programs, managed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority [URA], tackle various affordable housing issues in Pittsburgh.
Before the vote, Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith said she supported the plan even though she believes a majority of her West End constituents don’t. “I think there’s a lot of value in this program,” she said, not elaborating on opposition in her district.
Councilman Anthony Coghill said he was initially skeptical residents would know about the fund’s programs, which offer affordable housing funding to both residents and developers. But hearing of two recent home sales made possible through one of the fund’s programs “was just music to my ears,” he said during the meeting.
Council first approved the creation of the fund in 2016, but the implementation of programs did not start in earnest until last November, according to HOF Director Jessica Smith Perry’s briefing of the program at the URA’s May board meeting.
Read entire article at:
This article originally appeared in the New Pittsburgh Courier.