New affordable housing development to cater to seniors in Pittsburgh's Fairywood

A new development will bring affordable housing for senior citizens to Pittsburgh’s Fairywood neighborhood.

Officials broke ground Thursday on Cedarwood Homes, a 46-unit development at the former Fairywood School site.

“We’re going to make sure the people who live here can age in place and they can do it with dignity and with all the support they need,” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Matthew Heckles said.

The new affordable housing community will house people who are 62 and older. It will include 46 one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments across 12 quads and a duplex surrounded by green spaces, officials with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh said.

Seven units will be market rate, five will be reserved for residents making no more than 20% of the area median income, 19 will be earmarked for residents making no more than half the area median income and 15 will be designated for people making no more than 60% of the area median income, according to HACP.

“It’s wonderful that the area’s going to be gaining affordable senior housing,” Mark O’Matz of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency said. “Finding affordable housing is particularly difficult for seniors on fixed incomes.”

Six of the units will be fully accessible for seniors with mobility, vision and hearing issues, he said.

The development also is slated to include street trees, sidewalks, front porches and green spaces for residents to enjoy and find a sense of community, he said.

“It’s really got a great tranquil spirit to it,” O’Matz said. “I’m sure all the residents will love it very much.”

The development will include a fitness center, a kitchen, multipurpose space and management offices, according to HACP. Residents will have access to financial literacy seminars, nutrition and exercise programs, health screenings and other support.

City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, said residents of Fairywood have advocated for this development for years. Many Fairywood residents have felt their neighborhood was forgotten, she said, but this development provides “exactly what they asked for” by providing affordable housing for seniors who want to stay in their neighborhood.

“All they asked for was a way to stay in this neighborhood with affordability,” she said.

The site has been vacant for over a decade, Urban Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Susheela Nemani-Stanger said, acknowledging that Fairywood has “experienced a significant amount of disinvestment over the years.”

“We’ve been able to reimagine this space and how it can best meet the needs of the community,” she said, adding that the authority plans to invest in similar projects in the West End area. “We’re committed to improving our communities and increasing the amount of quality affordable housing.”

The development was funded in part by a $1.4 million grant from the URA and $1.6 million from HACP. Officials did not say what the overall project cost was.

HACP also committed 24 project-based vouchers to support the affordability of the new units.

The development marks the first Low Income Housing Tax Credit-financed senior citizens community in Pittsburgh’s West End, according to HACP.

Officials did not offer a timeline for when the project would be complete, but work on the site has already started.

“If you want to stabilize a neighborhood, make it affordable,” Mayor Ed Gainey said. “This is just another way of saying we’re committed to affordability.”