Greene gets $900,000 for housing, blight projects
Greene County has been approved to receive $900,000 in state grant funding for various housing and blight remediation projects.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, issued a recent release announcing a portion of nearly $2.3 million in Pennsylvania Housing Financing Agency grants has been awarded to Greene County to support affordable housing projects throughout the region.
According to Bartolotta’s announcement, Greene County is receiving $700,000 in funding for the purchase and clearing of six blighted homes, and $100,000 for the nonprofits Blueprints agency.
The grants were awarded through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund, which was created in 2010 to assist with the creation, rehabilitation and support of affordable housing throughout Pennsylvania.
Funding for the grants is provided by the impact fee charged on natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region and the state’s existing Realty Transfer Tax.
“Having somewhere to live is a basic need that must be met before families can achieve security and success, so I am grateful that these grants will help more district residents attain stable housing. Then, they can focus on becoming financially independent and realizing their other goals,” Bartolotta said in the release.
Greene County Commission Chairman Mike Belding said the projects to receive funding involve the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Greene (RACG), which is separate from the county as its own authority, board and bylaws but works closely with county organizations.
The $700,000 is earmarked for the county’s “Blight to Bright: New Houses Where Blight Once Existed” initiative. Dave Calvario, RACG director, said the Authority received the funding to put in new homes where blight once existed.
“These are lots that we own and where we tore down blighted structures previously, and it is now time to do something with these lots,” he said.
Projects in Waynesburg and Morgan and Cumberland townships will be addressed with this specific funding.
“Our desire is to help families and individuals who are moderate to low income purchase a home, and improve their living situation,” Calvario said.
In the past, PHARE funds have been used to purchase, clear and rehabilitate blighted homes in the previously mentioned areas.
Meanwhile, Calvario said the $100,000 in PHARE funding allotted to Blueprints, in partnership with RACG and the county, will help increase the number of lower and moderate-income families able to purchase quality affordable homes in the community of their choice in the county.
Calvario also said a separate $100,000 grant was recently allotted to Greene County from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. That money, he said, is being used for the demolition of six blighted homes in Nemacolin, Crucible and Carmichaels.