The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh on Thursday authorized an $860,000 loan agreement with the Allegheny County Housing Authority to rehabilitate Western Manor, a subsidized housing complex for senior citizens that’s been plagued by disrepair in recent years.
The money would go toward the $1 million the Allegheny County Housing Authority — which is in the process of acquiring Western Manor — needs to fix up the apartment units by installing new floors and appliances, replacing the HVAC system, upgrading the building’s security system and installing a new sprinkler system after the old one exploded last winter.
Currently, 26 of the building’s 32 apartment units are unoccupied due to unsafe building conditions. According to URA officials, those units will be important additions to the city’s affordable housing inventory once they become available.
"Right now, there's a significant need for affordable housing, especially with the homeless crisis within the city of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County," said Rich Stephenson, chief operating officer at the Allegheny County Housing Authority. "This will be adding 26 units of affordable housing within a very short amount of time and, actually, for a very low cost."
Western Manor was once the nurses’ quarters of an old tuberculosis hospital on Bedford Avenue in the Hill District. The URA purchased it in the 1980s after it sat vacant. Today, ownership of the building is in the process of being transferred from the nonprofit Western Manor Inc. to AHH-Western Manor LLC, a county housing authority affiliate.
Exterior doors held together by a rolling pin, water-stained ceilings and moldy walls were some of the issues plaguing residents when WESA first reported on the problems at the property back in 2021. Western Manor went on to fail several U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development inspections, placing it in danger of losing its subsidized housing status. In 2022, the URA board authorized $800,000 in emergency funding for Western Manor and the neighboring Milliones Manor in an effort to keep residents in their homes.
Renovations will be handled by a nonprofit arm of the county housing authority; work is set to start this summer. Officials said they expect to finish the renovations by the end of the year.
