Neighborhood Allies thanks the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), Governor Josh Shapiro, and Senator Jay Costa and other legislators for making a significant investment in affordable housing preservation in Pittsburgh. In October, PHFA announced awards under its Housing Options Program. Neighborhood Allies is thrilled with PHFA’s decision to award $22.8 million to affordable housing in Allegheny County – 86 percent of which went toward preservation projects. As the convener of the Preservation Working Group for affordable housing, Neighborhood Allies works with stakeholders throughout the region to identify at-risk affordable housing and preserve it for the long term, as a strategy to prevent displacement and improve quality of life. We congratulate partner organizations who received awards such as ACTION-Housing, Rising Tide Partners, Amani Christian CDC, the Hazelwood Initiative, and PA Affordable Housing Corporation.

The announcement of the grant awards showed the value of and need for dedicated funding for the preservation of affordable housing. Statewide, PHFA awarded more than $80 million to projects that will help to preserve 2,525 units for low-income households. At only $32,000 per unit, the grant program will be both impactful and an efficient use of state resources. We applaud all of those responsible in state government and urge them to renew the Housing Options Program for 2024.