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Meyers Ridge at home with new name

Brian C. Rittmeyer

For the holidays, Francis Carter can now do more than just put something in the window. She can decorate her yard.

Carter doesn't live in McKees Rocks Terrace anymore, even though she never left. She's now a proud resident of Meyers Ridge, the new name for the newly rebuilt housing plan.

"It doesn't look barracks-style. It looks like a residential area," said Carter, a resident for 11 years and president of the tenant council. "Now you've got pretty bushes and pretty flowers. You've got places to do things. That's what I love about it. You see a community."

The Allegheny County Housing Authority recently held a grand opening for the newly revitalized Meyers Ridge in McKees Rocks. Work on the two-phase, $40 million project began in 2000 and is substantially complete, said authority Executive Director Frank Aggazio.

The project saw the 288 dilapidated units dating to 1941 at the 16-acre site demolished and replaced with 146 units. A playground and landscaping remain to be finished. Five single family homes that will be owner-occupied have been built, and 14 more are planned.

The new name reflects the area's history -- Meyers was the name of the owner of a farm once there.

The difference between the old and new units "is like night and day," Aggazio said. The new units are larger, with more storage space, and modern amenities and materials. A community center with a computer lab, library and activity room was also built.

"The face of public housing is changing. We're a viable option for low to moderate income families," Aggazio said. "It's a place people will be proud to call home."

Toya Carter, 36, no relation to Francis Carter, has lived at the site since March 1991. She and her three children moved into a new unit in 2001.

The new buildings "look nice. They don't look like the typical project housing community. The old buildings looked like projects," she said. "It gave me more room than I used to have. I had stuff all over the place because I didn't have enough room."

The Housing Authority has overhauled a number of housing complexes across the county, including Uansa Village in McKees Rocks and nearby Groveton Village in Robinson. Work is now underway at Ohioview Acres in Stowe, where $50 million to $60 million is being spent to replace 250 units with 196 units, including 15 that will be owner-occupied.

At Meyers Ridge, Carter is still working to fix up the final odds and ends, but said things are looking good. She said the community is diverse -- new and old residents are getting to know each other. The population is racially balanced, and whites and blacks are mingling.

"I love seeing what's happening. It's all one up here, and that's how it's supposed to be," she said.