Two years ago, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and some other funding sources granted almost $13 million for affordable senior housing in Harrisburg, PA.
Within a few months, the pandemic hit, and building costs went up. Construction is on hold until the developer comes up with additional funding.
“We had all our financing in place. The big difference is costs went up by $1.2 million, because of the cost of construction materials,” Blane Stoddart, with RB Development, told the local ABC affiliate.
RB Development has partnered with the Harrisburg Housing Authority and Gardner Capital to build 49-unit Bethel Village in the state’s capital. The complex will be for seniors aged 62 or more years who make approximately $46,000 a year or less. Residents’ rents would be adjusted on a sliding scale depending on income.
“We still need to raise this extra million dollars from the city and from Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency within the next couple of months so we can put a shovel in the ground by October of 2021,” Stoddart said.
Stoddart told ABC that 71% of people in the city of Harrisburg qualify for affordable housing.
