Construction of Wesley Family Services building to start next year

Construction on Wesley Family Services’ four-story apartment and office building in New Kensington won’t begin until next year.

Art Maxwell, the nonprofit’s vice president of organizational advancement, said work on the $18.9 million Pioneer Apartments was supposed to begin this month, but was pushed back until February.

”One of the funding sources couldn’t push the paperwork through this month and they asked (if) could we delay that until February,” he said.

The 36-unit complex will be built on a parking lot between 10th and 11th Streets and Fourth Avenue and Cherry Way. Construction is expected to take 14 months.

Fifteen of the 36 apartments will have one bedroom, while 13 will have two bedrooms and eight will have three.

Rents will depend on household income and whether tenants are disabled or are coming out of or at risk of institutional care.

In addition to apartments, the building will house offices for Wesley Family Services, a pharmacy and autism services.

Stephen Christian-Michaels, chief strategy officer for Wesley Family Services and CEO of Family Services of Western Pennsylvania, hopes the complex will help New Kensington with its revitalization efforts.

“We’re hoping it will be stimulus for other development,” he said. “I think if people and businesses see a new development, new building, it will just spawn other ideas of new development in New Kensington.”

Wesley Family Services was created in 2017 through the merger of Wesley Spectrum and Family Services of Western Pennsylvania.

Madasyn Czebiniak is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Madasyn at 724-226-4702, mczebiniak@tribweb.com, or via Twitter @maddyczebstrib.