PublicSource | News for a better Pittsburgh (https://www.publicsource.org/tag/affordable-housing/)
As housing prices and rents rise in the Pittsburgh region, some residents face an additional hurdle — they're often denied housing they can afford.
Economists and developers believe the new tax plan will slow down the construction of affordable housing. Banks and corporations will have less they want to save on their tax bill, therefore, making it less attracting for them to buy Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
After weeks of scrambling to assist the tenants, city officials and local community groups may have hashed out a plan to salvage the units that can be rehabilitated and to keep HUD’s funding eligible at the properties — or at least within the city of Pittsburgh. So it’s possible, though not certain, that tenants like Makeela and her dad could stay in their homes.
Pittsburgh is getting close to having funding for affordable housing. But a few political hurdles still stand in the way.
So such a concerted and costly effort to attract a tech giant to Pittsburgh raises questions about what kind of development project would in fact be suitable for all Pittsburghers.
It was one of the coldest February days when the furnace in Doren Dansby’s building broke. Soon after, the electricity in her Mount Oliver apartment started going offline for daylong spells. The landlord, who spoke little English, couldn’t tell Dansby when either would be fixed. She knew she and her 9-year-old son had to get out. “I kept calling 211,” Dansby, 28, recalls.
The following graphic represents the 17,241 affordable housing units Pittsburgh needs to provide for all households earning 50 percent of the city's median household income or less. For the full story on Pittsburgh's affordable housing shortage, read our explainer: What you need to know about affordable housing (or lack thereof) in Pittsburgh
Source: Pittsburgh Housing Needs Assessment, Mullin & Lonergan Associates
The Penn Plaza development has been a symbol of a trend, where units well within the price range of low-income Pittsburgh residents are being squeezed out of the market and replaced by new, swanky places aimed at high-earners.