HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency awarded $700,000 in Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) funding for four Armstrong County projects, according to Sen. Joe Pittman (R-41), who chairs the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, and Reps. Donna Oberlander (R-63) and Abby Major (R-60). Funding for these PHARE funding awards was derived from the state’s Marcellus Shale Impact Fee and Realty Transfer Tax.
Projects receiving awards include:
- The Armstrong County PHARE Emergency Shelter Program ($150,000) – The Armstrong County PHARE Emergency Shelter Program will offer shelter apartment units to residents of the county who are homeless and referred by partnering organizations (Armstrong County Community Action Agency, Armstrong-Indiana-Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission, Armstrong-Indiana Behavioral and Developmental Health Program, Children Youth and Family Services, and the County Jail and Probation).
- The Brush With Kindness Critical Home Repair Program ($100,000) – Armstrong Habitat for Humanity will use these funds to make critical home repairs for low-income residents of Armstrong County.
- The Former Apollo High School Redevelopment Project ($350,000) – The Armstrong Industrial Development Council intends to use these funds for the acquisition and demolition of the former Apollo High School building in Apollo Borough to pave the way to construct affordable rental apartments for area seniors.
- The Kittanning Housing Rehabilitation ($100,000) – Armstrong Habitat for Humanity intends to use the funding to build two energy efficient homes on the site of two blighted properties that have already been acquired and demolished by the organization.
Contact: Jeremy Dias jdias@pasen.gov