New grant funding for Oakland Community Land Trust

OPDC is happy to announce the receipt of two state grants totaling $225,000 to support homeownership for BIPOC communities and address blight in the Oakland community. The first, in the amount of $200,000, is from the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund at Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. This funding will allow OPDC to deploy a unique and creative approach to address historic racial disparities in homeownership rates by supporting Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) households to purchase homes through the Oakland Community Land Trust (CLT). BIPOC residents will receive funding and financial counseling. 

The second, in the amount of $25,000 from the Commonwealth Financing Agency, through Department of Community and Economic Development blight remediation funds, will support predevelopment planning for OPDC to build new Oakland Community Land Trust homes on vacant properties we’ve assembled in the Oakcliffe neighborhood.   

“We want to thank our elected officials, especially Senators Costa and Fontana, for their support in obtaining these grants for the Oakland community,” said Wanda Wilson, Executive Director of OPDC.  “These grants will help us to achieve our vision of a vibrant Oakland where all of our neighbors thrive.” 

“Home ownership is at the heart of the American dream, but that dream has been deferred for too many people through the last recession and then the pandemic,” Senator Wayne Fontana said in announcing the PHARE grants. “For many it’s simply the difficulty of navigating the complications of banking and real estate.” The PHARE grant will allow OPDC to build on its successful financial coaching and case management program to help BIPOC families achieve their dreams of owning a home. 

Clutter for a Cause returns on June 28

By: Maura McCampbell, Marketing & Community Programs Coordinator 

There are some certainties in life. Loyal Pirates fans know that they can enjoy the annual October re-broadcast of the 1960 World Series Game 7 at the former Forbes Field. You'll always find an M&M at the bottom of a Dave and Andy's waffle cone. And without fail, every summer, students move out of their apartments and leave piles of stuff on Oakland’s sidewalks and streets.

OPDC and Pitt have teamed up to address that annual phenomenon with a program called Clutter for a Cause. The program began as a sustainability initiative on Pitt’s campus, encouraging students in the dorms to donate their unwanted accessories, clothing, décor, etc., rather than just pitching it as they moved out in April.

OPDC joined forces with Pitt in 2018 to extend that program off-campus. In doing so, we reduce the stress of move-out on Oakland’s neighborhoods, Pittsburgh’s landfills, and our global resource cycle.

Now Clutter for a Cause donation events are during peak lease turnover times throughout the summer. There are in-person drop-off locations and a curbside pickup service that make it easy for students and neighbors to donate unwanted but usable items. Students can buy these items for low prices at the August Thriftsburgh sale. Any leftover items go to donation centers throughout the Pittsburgh region. 

This year’s Clutter events kicked off in late April with a weeklong on-campus donation drive and an off-campus collection at the Sennott Street lot. Students were able to participate safely in accordance with COVID-19 move-out precautions. “I am encouraged by the turnout at the first two Clutter events this spring,” said Erika Ninos, Sustainability Coordinator for the Division of Students Affairs (Office of PittServes). “We have diverted over 8,000 pounds of textile waste from landfills, collected over 1,400 pounds of food for local food pantries, and filled half of a 48-foot trailer with household items that will find a new home with Pitt students or community members for this coming year.” 

This program would not be possible without the dedicated work of Pitt’s Student Office of Sustainability, the Office of Community and Governmental Relations, and OPDC. Staff and students are busy behind the scenes advertising, collecting donations, inventorying, and re-homing items. OPDC spreads the word to Oakland residents and landlords, organizes the curbside pickup service, and coordinates redistributing our donations to community partners.

“For years, both as an Oakland resident and as someone who truly believes in reducing waste, it would break my heart to see perfectly usable furniture, food, and housewares get dumped in the trash during student move out season,” said Liz Gray, OPDC’s Neighborhood Quality Consultant. “Not now. The Clutter team rescues furniture and more from the landfill, and that puts a smile on my face.” 

There are three more opportunities to donate to Clutter for a Cause this summer, and donations from non-students are welcome. We will have a donations station in the Quality Inn parking lot (3401 Boulevard of the Allies, behind Panera Bread) from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on June 28, July 26, and August 9. 

“The curbside pickup service was quick, easy, and cordial,” said Amera Khalil, a south Oakland resident who donated to the June 1 Clutter collection. “I was glad to donate to a meaningful cause that connects people with needed resources.” 

To sign up for our contactless, curbside pickup service, please complete this google form before each collection date. We do not accept upholstered furniture, mattresses or mattress toppers, or carpets. You can find a complete list of accepted items and event updates here.

For questions, contact OPDC’s Maura McCampbell at mmccampbell@opdc.org or 412-621-7863 ext. 111.

OPDC's statement from May 5 public hearing on displacement of Black Pittsburghers

Pittsburgh City Council held a public hearing on the forced mass displacement of Black residents on May 5, 2021. The Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition petitioned the council for this hearing and asked City Council to acknowledge that 7,000- African-Americans (about 9% of the city’s African-American population) left Pittsburgh in a four-year period between 2014-2018.

Over the course of the three-hour meeting, nearly 40 residents utilized their three minutes of speaking time. Oakland Planning and Development Property Manager Jodi Lincoln spoke on OPDC’s behalf. Her testimony is below.

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Oakland Planning and Development Corporation joins the Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition in calling on the city to prioritize the development of affordable housing, especially in communities that have lost BIPOC residents and homeowners over the past decades. Rental pressure in South Oakland and West Oakland has displaced hundreds of families with multigenerational roots in our neighborhood, and we can speak firsthand about the many ways this has weakened community ties and exacerbated economic inequality and racial injustice in our community. 

OPDC is an experienced affordable housing developer, both for sale and for rent, with a demonstrated track record of success.  We work to build a healthier, more vibrant, more welcoming, attractive, and sustainable Oakland. Our ability to support our community absolutely depends on increased funding for affordable rental housing and creating new opportunities for affordable homeownership – and healing the wounds that displacement has inflicted on Oakland families and on our community as a whole. 

PPSAC’s recommendation that the city survey residents lost to the suburbs is excellent. Like PPSAC, we expect affordability will be a common theme in survey responses – but we also expect respondents to talk about public safety, employment opportunities, schools, and the erosion of that sense of community that glues everything together. There is a well-documented need for thousands of more units of affordable housing to meet the need, and the City of Pittsburgh has a fantastic opportunity with the COVID Relief Dollars to invest in historically neglected communities and repair the damage that displacement has caused these neighborhoods and families.   

These are not simple problems with simple solutions, and organizations like OPDC are committed to addressing all the layered needs of our community members – past and present. We invite the city to do the same. Thank you.

School 2 Career scholarship opportunity

by Kathleen Radock, Communications and Development Manager

Thanks to grant support from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, OPDC’s School 2 Career program is pleased to offer two $500 college scholarships to graduating seniors of University Prep Milliones.

Interested students can submit their applications online at bit.ly/milliones21. Applications must include a recommendation from a teacher or other mentor.

OPDC has offered School 2 Career scholarships for 20 years, but this is our first time offering a funding opportunity to students exclusively at a partner school. S2C Program Director Karla Stallworth is excited to offer this new scholarship opportunity and to highlight Milliones.

"We love University Prep Milliones. We love the direction the school is going this year - they are doing so much to keep the students engaged. We really wanted to do something special to support them specifically."

Milliones has fewer than 100 seniors. Stallworth hopes that the small pool means funding will be a more accessible option. "A lot of times students look at scholarships that are on a national level and are highly competitive because of the large pool of applicants. We didn't want to make this scholarship so competitive that seniors wouldn't apply due to the number of students involved. Being able to offer it in our community to our partner school - it's something we became very passionate about."

Students do not have to be enrolled in S2C programming to be eligible for the scholarship. Stallworth added that this opportunity is part of School 2 Career broadening its scope of support. "School 2 Career has been blessed this year with COVID support grants for families and scholarships for students. We wanted to share that with our community school."

The deadline to submit an application and recommendation is May 15, 2021. Visit School 2 Career online at www.opdc.org/school2career and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/school2career.

The Oakland CLT grows with new homeowners and staff

By: Maura McCampbell, Marketing & Community Programs Coordinator 

The Oakland Community Land Trust (CLT) recently welcomed Victoria and Tomoa Quinn as its newest homeowners. Coming to Pittsburgh by way of New York City, the Quinns chose to rent in Oakland for its proximity to work and ability to support a car-free lifestyle. When they started looking to buy a home in Pittsburgh a few years later, Oakland was the obvious choice. “I want to be in Oakland. I want accessible transportation and to know my neighbors by their first name,” said Tomoa, a UPMC employee. Victoria added, “I wanted to live in an already established neighborhood that reflects the diversity of a real community, and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.”  

Thanks to the Oakland CLT and our partners, the Quinns were able to turn their dream of homeownership in Oakland into a reality – and to start building equity and generational wealth.  In order to achieve this milestone, OPDC secured additional funding sources from the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Housing Opportunity Fund’s Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance program. We also had a great partner in First Commonwealth Bank, who helped bring all the sources together and get this sale across the finish line.  We appreciate their partnership and dedication to equitable community development.

OPDC formed the Oakland Community Land Trust (CLT) in 2018 to provide affordable homeownership in our community. The market pressure for student housing in Oakland is relentless; investors purchase many of the homes that come up for sale here to turn into rental properties. The CLT ensures that houses OPDC builds and renovates will always remain affordable owner-occupied homes. This works because the CLT owns the lot (the land a house sits on) and leases it to the homeowner for a low monthly fee. The lease allows the Oakland CLT to stipulate that the property must be owner-occupied and also enables the CLT to maintain affordability of the property in perpetuity. Ultimately, this means that families like the Quinns have the opportunity to call Oakland home now and for generations to come.

Within the CLT leases’ stipulations, Oakland CLT homeowners have all the same rights and responsibilities as any other homeowner. A CLT homeowner can invest in and renovate their home, pass it down to family members, or sell it. They earn equity and also a share of the appreciation in value.  A CLT homeowner receives a benefit -- a low purchase price -- at the time they purchase the home and agrees to sell the home at an affordable price in the future. The resale formula accommodates appreciation while also maintaining affordability long term. Oakland homeowners make up the majority of the Oakland CLT Committee, the group that stewards the Oakland CLT’s growth and vision. 

Currently, there are eight CLT houses in the Oakland CLT, and at least six more will be added by the end of 2021.

OPDC recently welcomed a new CLT Manager, Malcolm Carrington, to our staff. Malcolm started with us in March and is eager to dig into the growing work at hand. He understands the challenges facing first-time homebuyers and is committed to guiding them through the process.

I see a lot of potential in Community Land Trusts, and I want to help people start a journey that in the end will benefit them tenfold,” Malcolm said. “My job is not to convince you that the CLT is right for you. That part is all up to you. I’m going to meet you where you are as an individual and tell you the truth so that you can make an informed decision.” 

If you have thoughts on what you would like to see happen with Oakland’s CLT, or if you or someone you know are interested in purchasing a CLT home, please get in touch with Malcolm Carrington at mcarrington@opdc.org or 412.621.7863 ext. 123.