Apartment/office complex planned as potential 'anchor' for New Kensington
Construction on a four-story apartment and office building is expected to start in New Kensington later this year.
The 36-unit Pioneer Apartments will be built on a parking lot between 10th and 11th Streets, and between Fourth Avenue and Cherry Alley.
The project is being undertaken by Wesley Family Services, created in 2017 through the merger of Wesley Spectrum and Family Services of Western Pennsylvania. It began before the merger under Family Services and is officially still under its umbrella, said Stephen Christian-Michaels, chief strategy officer of Wesley Family Services and chief executive officer of Family Services of Western Pennsylvania.
“We hope this will be another anchor in the New Kensington redevelopment effort,” he said.
It is receiving about $10 million in tax credits and $500,000 in funding through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund.
Money provided through the fund, managed by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority, is meant to address significant and persistent housing needs in communities.
“Funding for housing improvements is essential to growing and bettering our communities,” said state Sen. Jim Brewster, whose 45th Senatorial District includes New Kensington. “Increasing housing opportunities is the right thing to do for our communities, and I am grateful to see a project in New Kensington working to provide access to quality housing.”
Pioneer Apartments will be a taxable property, Christian-Michaels said.
The parking lot was owned by New Kensington, Christian-Michaels said. It was sold to the city's redevelopment authority, which then donated it for the project.
Family Services currently offers supported housing for about 200 people in various apartments and in 20 group homes in four counties. Christian-Michaels said Pioneer Apartments will be its first multifamily housing project.
Tenants are expected to come from those locations and from public housing.
Of the 36 apartments, there will be 14 one-bedroom, 14 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom units. Nine will be set aside for people with disabilities, or who are coming out of or are at risk of institutional care, Christian-Michaels said.
Monthly rents for accessible apartments will range from $244 to $337, while others will range from $603 to $800. Rent for subsidized apartments will be $172 per month for one bedroom and $300 for two bedrooms.
In addition to apartments, the building will house offices for Wesley Family Services, moved there from elsewhere in New Kensington and in Tarentum, along with a variety of human services, such as mental health, drug and economic development.
Autism services and a pharmacy could also be added, Christian-Michaels said.
“We think we have a distinct advantage of co-locating mental health services and other human services in the same building with people who, at times, have problems maintaining a place in public housing,” Christian-Michaels said.
Family Services considered rehabilitating an existing building but found it would cost more than building new, Christian-Michaels said.
“We're really excited,” Christian-Michaels said. “We think it will be a real boon for the community as well as my staff.”
New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said the city supports the development.
Guzzo said it's been “a long while” since a new building of this size has been built in New Kensington.
“What makes this attractive are the offices that are going to be there,” he said. “We're going to have 100 to 125 employees that will be working there. That's quite a bit of foot traffic for downtown and a good thing for the city.”
Christian-Michaels said construction is expected to start in October or November and will take about a year to finish.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCRittmeyer.
Editor's note: Due to incorrect information that was provided, this story was updated on Monday, April 23, 2018 to correct the amount of tax credits.
