Pittsburgh Housing and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) and ACTION-Housing have restored a number of historic homes stimulating once vacant and blighted neighborhoods.
Peebles Square
Located on the west side of Wilkinsburg adjacent to the city neighborhood of Point Breeze, Peebles Square is a 20 unit development comprised of 6 rehabilitated townhouses, 1 single family rehabilitation, and up to 12 new single family housing units. ACTION-Housing’s $5.5 million budget for the project has been obtained primarily through state and Allegheny County agencies. To date, the 7 renovations and 8 new houses have been completed and sold.
Hamnett Place Neighborhood
Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation acquired these historic homes through the Vacant Property Recovery Program and fixed them up for resale to homeowners.
Beginning in 2005, PHLF partnered with Allegheny County Economic Development (ACED) and the Borough of Wilkinsburg to renovate vacant and blighted vacant homes in the Hamnett Place neighborhood, directly adjacent to the MLK East Busway. Seven previously vacant properties have been renovated and four houses have been sold.
The Crescent Apartments
The Crescent and the Wilson House renovation projects in the Hamnett Place neighborhood of Wilkinsburg represent one of the largest restoration projects in Wilkinsburg to date with a total renovation of $8.6 million. This also represents the second largest development project undertaken by PHLF since they undertook the revitalization of Station Square.
The restoration of these two buildings brought 27 units of affordable housing back to Wilkinsburg, with 23 units in the Crescent Apartments and four units in the Wilson House. These buildings were highlighted as essential components of the rejuvenation of the Borough in the Wilkinsburg Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (WNTI) a planning document which had significant input from local residents, Wilkinsburg stakeholders, borough government, and PHLF.
From the WCDC’s Economy League Narrative, 2012