HARRISBURG PA – Affordable housing project proposals in Montgomery, Berks, and Chester counties will receive more than $9 million in grants, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency announced. The list includes three recipients in the Pottstown area.
The money, to be distributed among 33 organizations in the Tri-County region, is part of a total $64.8 million being released by the agency. It is intended to support 322 proposals from all of the state’s 67 counties.
The so-called “Housing Trust” funds come from two sources. One is impact fees collected from natural gas companies operating in the state. The other is a portion of Pennsylvania’s realty transfer tax.
Receiving funds to benefit proposals in Pottstown, according to the agency, were the:
- Tri-County Community Network, $125,000, on behalf of the Affordable Housing Scholarship Fund within the College Student Basic Needs Program;
- The Montgomery County Housing Authority, $275,000, for roof replacement work at Robert P. Smith Towers on East High Street; and
- Preservation Pottstown Inc. and the Mosaic Community Land Trust, $200,000, for a home rehabilitation and housing-related services project.
Some of the region’s grant recipients, depending on the scope of their proposals, also may assist residents of western Montgomery, eastern Berks, and northern Chester counties, the agency indicated.
How grants will be used
With the money spread statewide, the agency added, it said the funds will:
- Create 169 new, affordable housing units;
- Preserve or rehabilitate 1,181 affordable housing units;
- Enable tax credit projects to rehabilitate or preserve an additional 900 units;
- Create 61 new single-family homes;
- Create or rehabilitate 227 housing units specifically for households in danger of homelessness;
- Supply down payment and closing-cost assistance to 316 potential new home-buyers;
- Provide housing counseling and financial education to more than 6,900 families or households; and
- Offer housing assistance that could include rent, utilities, or transportation to more than 14,000 families or households in danger of homelessness.
At least $43.2 million, or 66%, of the $64.8 million allocated benefits households with incomes below 50% of their area’s median income, according to the agency.
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