THE FUNDS WILL BE USED FOR PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE HOMES AND TO ADDRESS HISTORIC RACIAL DISPARITIES IN HOMEOWNERSHIP
Last week, Governor Tom Wolf announced the recipients of a new round of funding for housing programs through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund.
OPDC was among the 245 housing and community development initiatives across 67 counties selected by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) to share a portion of the total $48.4 million in funding for fiscal year 2021-22.
“This program ensures that communities are able to preserve existing housing and create new housing so all Pennsylvanians have access to affordable, safe housing statewide,” said Gov. Wolf. “This funding will ensure that the money is applied where the need is greatest and can accomplish the most good.”
OPDC will use the $150,000 in PHARE funds to reclaim abandoned vacant land and increase affordable homeownership opportunities in Oakland neighborhoods. Each new home will be permanently affordable through the Oakland Community Land Trust, a nonprofit, community-supporting system of land ownership.
This work will build on 2020 PHARE/RTT support, which allowed us to provide additional funding to BIPOC homebuyers. BIPOC families have been and continue to be displaced from Oakland residential neighborhoods where they have resided for generations, many as long-term renters. The displacement is happening because of gentrification.
According to a 2020 report by City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, the number of residents that identify as Black has been declining in all Oakland neighborhood areas in the past two decades. The same study describes the vulnerability of Black residents to displacement—78% of Black households rent.
By investing in permanently affordable new home construction, we can continue to provide homes for purchase as we address racial disparities in homeownership.
For more information on equitable development and neighborhood stability in Oakland, visit our Oakland Community Land Trust page.
