The Allegheny County Housing Authority is set to take over management of two affordable apartment buildings in the city of Pittsburgh.
Once the arrangements are finalized, the agency will take over management of Bry-Mard Apartments, a 37-unit building in East Hills, and ownership and management of Warren Plaza, a 12-unit property in the Hill District. The county agency will be managing three such properties in the city.
The buildings will be run by the authority’s nonprofit arm. Its board voted last Friday to approve the arrangement.
Bry-Mard has been a key part of the homeless services system within Pittsburgh since 1988 by providing housing for people exiting homelessness, said Kendall Pelling, executive director of nonprofit Rising Tide Partners, which is serving as the developer on a major renovation project for the building. Residents are expected to move in before the end of next year, he said. The building will be part of the county executive’s “500 in 500” initiative that seeks to find or create 500 additional units of deeply affordable housing in Allegheny County.
The Allegheny County Housing Authority is also set to take ownership of and manage Western Manor, an affordable building for seniors in Pittsburgh’s Hill District; that deal is awaiting final HUD approval. The agency received assistance from Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority to make upgrades at that property.
The county housing authority is looking to grow the portfolio of housing it manages, said Richard Stephenson, its chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
Pelling praised the agency for building partnerships to provide more housing and services.
“I really appreciate them stretching themselves to work beyond the traditional footprint of the county housing authority,” Pelling said.
