PITTSBURGH, PA (December 17, 2018) The Office of Mayor William Peduto and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) thank Governor Tom Wolf for releasing a $2 million grant to promote affordable housing in the City of Pittsburgh. The funding will come from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).
“We are appreciative of the Governor's investment in western Pennsylvania. Opportunities like this provide not just the ability to address our affordable housing need, but additionally decreases urban blight in Pittsburgh. A partnership like this helps us ensure that Pittsburgh remains a city for all,” said Mayor William Peduto.
“Thanks to this generous NSP award from the Commonwealth, the URA, City of Pittsburgh and our community development partners will be able to turn 35 vacant and abandoned houses into affordable homeownership opportunities for Pittsburgh’s residents,” said Robert Rubinstein, URA executive director.
In partnership with the URA, the City will procure, reconstruct, and resell 35 abandon or foreclosed homes, with a focus in areas that have the greatest need in the city. After the houses are restored, the properties will be sold to buyers at or below 120 percent of the area median income. Additionally, twenty-five percent of the properties will be reserved to be sold to buyers with at or below 50 percent of the area median income.
NSP provides grants to communities to address the housing foreclosure crisis created by subprime and other problematic mortgage lending. This program is authorized under the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. In addition to promoting affordable housing, the grants also help address blight issues resulting from these abandoned or foreclosed homes.
