Fayette County rededicates The Heritage
John F. Brothers/HeraldStandard.com
Thomas Harkless (left), executive director of the Fayette County Housing Authority, speaks to guests and residents of The Heritage in Uniontown during its rededication. The housing authority recently purchased the building from the city.
John F. Brothers/HeraldStandard.com
Ernest DeBlasio (left), vice chairman of the Fayette County Housing Authority, speaks during the rededication of the Heritage Apartment Building on Main Street in Uniontown. With Deblasio is Thomas Harkless, housing authority executive director. The housing authority purchased the building from the city in May.
The Heritage in downtown Uniontown will continue to provide affordable homes for 36 low-income senior citizens for many years to come, city and Fayette County officials said at the building’s rededication on Monday.
The Fayette County Housing Authority’s nonprofit corporation, Fayette Asset Management Inc. bought the three-story apartment building on Peter Street from the city to save it from foreclosure in May.
“This is going to be a home for 36 people for a long, long time,” said Thomas Harkless, housing authority executive director.
Harkless commended the housing authority, the city, the Uniontown Redevelopment Authority and the authority’s nonprofit entity, the Uniontown Property Development Corp. (UPDC), which was the developer, for their parts in sale.
“This is a good thing for the city and the county. If the city is strong, so is the county,” Harkless said.
Mayor Ed Fike thanked the housing authority for rescuing the building.
“It saved your home. That’s first and foremost,” Fike said to the tenants who attended the ceremony.
“This is an example of what happens when municipal entities work together,” Uniontown Redevelopment Authority Chairman John Oris said.
Vince Zapotosky, chairman of the Fayette County Board of Commissioners, said cooperation between the county and city preserved the apartments.
“In today’s world, affordable housing is not easily attained,” Zapotosky said. “We realize the need for affordable housing for those who need it most.”
Stephanie King, who arrange the loans and tax credit financing to construct the building in 1995 when she was the city redevelopment authority’s executive director, said she is glad the building will remain a home for seniors.
“This was a baby of mine,” King said.
She said the late philanthropist Robert Eberly provided operating subsidies until funding became available through the state’s Act 137.
However, financial concerns arose in 2009. The redevelopment authority’s housing subsidies, which kept tenants’ rent low, expired that year.
The building was not tax exempt and real estate taxes were “gouging the operating budget,” Harkless said.
Its annual tax bills included nearly $45,000 from the Uniontown Area School District and $22,000 from the city.
The housing authority applied its housing subsidies to the building and the city, county and school district agreed to accept payments in lieu of taxes, Harkless said.
To buy the building, the housing authority paid the redevelopment authority $130,000 to repay a loan the authority made to the UPDC to help pay for construction, he said, adding that the housing authority also settled some outstanding debt.
Harkless the ownership transfer was seamless. Presbyterian Senior Care Network will continue to manager the building, he said.