The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Butler is once again seeking state grant funding in order to assist city residents.
The Authority was awarded a $200,000 PHARE grant through an application filed last year with the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund. However the Authority has yet to receive the funds due to confusion at the state level.
The Authority asked for help in the process from state Representative Marci Mustello. Once it is received, this grant will allow for about 10 homeowners in the city’s west end and south side areas to receive up to $20,000 each to address rehabilitation projects at their residences.
The City Redevelopment Authority has also applied for three PHARE grants for the current year including $500,000 for owner occupied housing rehab, $520,000 for rental housing rehabilitation, and $400,000 for an acquisition rehab resale pilot program.
Operations Manager Veronica Walker on how the new program would operate.
“We’ve wanted to do this for many years, but we’ve never had the opportunity,” Walker said. “These PHARE funds are giving us an opportunity to do that. We would purchase a blighted house, rehab it, and then resell it to a very low income person. The sale would then go back into a revolving account in which we would purchase another blighted house, and so on.”
These awards are not expected to be announced until sometime around March.