WCDC Receives $400k To Help Empower Residents To Fight Back Against Wilkinsburg’s Growing Vacancy And Blight
The WCDC is pleased to announce that it has secured $400,000 in PA Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Funds (PHARE) from the PA Housing Finance Agency to support the Wilkinsburg Vacant Property Recovery Initiative. This initiative grew out of the WCDC and its Strong Neighborhoods Committee’s work, and it represents a collection of efforts and programs that provide funds and resources directly to community members interested in acquiring and rehabilitating vacant properties and/or to making exterior repairs and updates to their homes.
Through programs like the Homeowner Acquisition, Repair, and Preservation (HARP) Program and Vacant Property Recovery Initiative, PHARE funds will specifically support the WCDC’s work to provide financial and/or technical support to residents for:
- much-needed home repairs;
- vacant property acquisition to encourage new homeownership and preservation of Wilkinsburg’s housing stock;
- and wills and estate planning funding to encourage existing homeowners to plan for the future of their property.
This is the third grant provided to the WCDC by PHFA since 2020, totaling $750,000 in support from the agency over the past three years. PHFA’s increasing support of the WCDC shows the effectiveness of the organization’s work and the need to continue addressing Wilkinsburg’s most pressing issues with dedicated, consistent funding to support capacity and program development.
Examples of how these funds have been used to impact the lives of Wilkinsburg residents include:
- 30 applications submitted to acquire vacant properties and/or land have been submitted within the last two years with 12 properties successfully acquired to date.
- 34 Wilkinsburg residents received grants of up to $10,000 in 2022 with 14 home repairs and/or renovations completed in the last year.
- 19 residents have reached out for free legal assistance related to wills and estate planning with 7 completed so far.
- 3 resident-driven neighborhood improvement plans have received technical assistance and funding to support phase one, with more funding planned for subsequent phases. The plans represent a concerted effort to address the vacancy and blight within these three focus areas and are a direct result of the WCDC’s Strong Neighborhoods Committee’s work and the 2022 WCDC Community Vacant Property Strategy.
