The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) board voted to provide three developers with $11 million to close the gaps on their affordable housing projects in Fairywood, Hazelwood Green and the Hill District.

The affordable housing developments will bring a total of 159 new housing units online, with 149 of the units reserved for tenants earning below the area’s median income. The projects address distinct housing needs in each neighborhood, from housing Fairywood’s aging population to revitalizing the site of Pittsburgh’s oldest public housing in the Hill District. 

“There’s such a high demand for all kinds of housing types throughout the city,” board chair Yarone Zober said, citing Cedarwood Homes in Fairywood as an example. “You have people that want to grow old and age in their own communities — there’s no opportunity to do that.”

Fairywood: 48 apartments

The board approved loaning Hill Top Villas LLC, an affiliate of the New Jersey-based developer Tryko Partners, $2 million to construct 48 one-bedroom apartments in Fairywood. The development costs $22.9 million in total, and construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2027. 

It’s Tryko Partners’ second housing development in the West End neighborhood to focus on seniors, who make up roughly 20% of the neighborhood’s overall population. The city’s overall population of residents aged 65 and older hovers around 15%. 

The first project, called Cedarwood Homes, sits on the site of the former Fairywood School and offers 46 age-restricted units spread across 12 cottage-style, single-story buildings. 

“Cedarwood leased up in actually a little bit less than four months,” said Isaac Sassoon, vice president of Tryko Partners. “We expect the exact same thing here in Hill Top.”

Hazelwood: 46 housing units

The board also voted to help fund one of three residential buildings collectively called Woodlawn Lofts in Hazelwood Green. The Downtown-based development firm Trek Development already broke ground on its first building, HG Lytle, and expects for residents to move into the 50-unit building by the end of the year, Janelle Kemerer, a project manager at the development company, said at the board meeting. 

Similar to the HG Lytle building, the $24.4 million, 46-unit residential building that the board voted to partially fund through a $2 million loan on Thursday will include 44 units set aside for residents making 60% below the area’s median income. The developers will also set aside 24 units for student-parents participating in Pittsburgh Scholar House’s programs. It will also give preference to existing residents of the Hazelwood neighborhood. The residential buildings represent the first housing development in an area that’s now known as grounds for nearby universities’ research and development.  

“There’s a lot of great momentum happening at Hazelwood Green,” Kemerer said, in reference to investments by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

Hill District: 65 replacement homes

The URA will also provide $7 million in gap financing to Bedford Dwelling’s multiphase redevelopment, which includes constructing 425 new housing units on the public housing development’s current site and 398 more at sites scattered across the Greater Hill District. Thursday’s vote enables the URA to fund Somers Drive, a townhome community on the Bedford Dwellings site that will offer 65 low-income and market-rate units.

The multiphase project is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant, which has been used in neighborhoods across the city to spur affordable housing development and replace units built starting in 1938. 

Mia Hollie is the economic development and housing reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at mia@publicsource.org. 

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Affordable housing plans in Fairywood, Hazelwood, Hill District get new funding

by Mia Hollie, Pittsburgh's Public Source
May 14, 2026

<h1>Affordable housing plans in Fairywood, Hazelwood, Hill District get new funding</h1> <p class="byline">by Mia Hollie, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />May 14, 2026</p> <p>The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) board voted to provide three developers with $11 million to close the gaps on their affordable housing projects in Fairywood, Hazelwood Green and the Hill District.</p> <p>The affordable housing developments will bring a total of 159 new housing units online, with 149 of the units reserved for tenants earning below the area’s median income. The projects address distinct housing needs in each neighborhood, from housing Fairywood’s aging population to revitalizing the site of Pittsburgh’s oldest public housing in the Hill District.&nbsp;</p> <p>“There’s such a high demand for all kinds of housing types throughout the city,” board chair Yarone Zober said, citing Cedarwood Homes in Fairywood as an example. “You have people that want to grow old and age in their own communities — there’s no opportunity to do that.”</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fairywood-48-apartments">Fairywood: 48 apartments</h2> <p>The board approved loaning Hill Top Villas LLC, an affiliate of the New Jersey-based developer Tryko Partners, $2 million to construct 48 one-bedroom apartments in Fairywood. The development costs $22.9 million in total, and construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2027. </p> <p>It’s Tryko Partners’ second housing development in the West End neighborhood to focus on seniors, who make up roughly 20% of the neighborhood's overall population. The city’s overall population of residents aged 65 and older hovers <a href="https://ucsur.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/Census%20Reports/UCSUR_Profiles_of_Change_20142024_March2026.pdf">around 15%</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>The first project, called <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-affordable-housing-ownpgh-skinny-roberts-building-ura-senior-fairywood/">Cedarwood Homes</a>, sits on the site of the former Fairywood School and offers 46 age-restricted units spread across 12 cottage-style, single-story buildings.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Cedarwood leased up in actually a little bit less than four months,” said Isaac Sassoon, vice president of Tryko Partners. “We expect the exact same thing here in Hill Top.”</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hazelwood-46-housing-units">Hazelwood: 46 housing units</h2> <p>The board also voted to help fund one of three <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/hazelwood-green-affordable-housing-pittsburgh-planning/">residential buildings</a> collectively called Woodlawn Lofts in Hazelwood Green. The Downtown-based development firm Trek Development already broke ground on its first building, HG Lytle, and expects for residents to move into the 50-unit building by the end of the year, Janelle Kemerer, a project manager at the development company, said at the board meeting. </p> <p>Similar to the HG Lytle building, the $24.4 million, 46-unit residential building that the board voted to partially fund through a $2 million loan on Thursday will include 44 units set aside for residents making 60% below the area’s median income. The developers will also set aside 24 units for student-parents participating in <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-scholar-house-generational-wealth-higher-ed-diamonte-walker/">Pittsburgh Scholar House</a>’s programs. It will also give preference to existing residents of the Hazelwood neighborhood. The residential buildings represent the first housing development in an area that’s now known as grounds for nearby universities’ research and development.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“There’s a lot of great momentum happening at Hazelwood Green,” Kemerer said, in reference to investments by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hill-district-65-replacement-homes">Hill District: 65 replacement homes</h2> <p>The URA will also provide $7 million in gap financing to Bedford Dwelling’s <a href="https://www.ura.org/pages/bedford-dwellings">multiphase redevelopment</a>, which includes constructing 425 new housing units on the public housing development’s current site and 398 more at sites scattered across the Greater Hill District. Thursday’s vote enables the URA to fund Somers Drive, a townhome community on the Bedford Dwellings site that will offer 65 low-income and market-rate units.</p> <p>The multiphase project is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-affordable-housing-bedford-dwellings-authority-hacp-choice-neighborhoods/">Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant</a>, which has been used in neighborhoods across the city to spur affordable housing development and replace units built starting in 1938.&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Mia Hollie is the economic development and housing reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at </em><a href="mailto:mia@publicsource.org"><em>mia@publicsource.org</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-ura-affordable-housing-funds-hazelwood-hill-fairywood/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1332741&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-ura-affordable-housing-funds-hazelwood-hill-fairywood/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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