PIRHL

Architect:

ADA Architects

Scope Of Work

Edinboro Family Homes is a 29 unit single-family development built within a previously existing market rate subdivision. The development is part of an extended market rate neighborhood and is adjacent to a day care, a retail center anchored by a full-service grocery with pharmacy, as well as a picturesque five-acre nature preserve which provides beautiful backyard views and privacy. Edinboro Family Homes is financed primarily through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency utilizing Federal Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) and PennHOMES loan resources.

The development operates under a Lease-Purchase structure. The initial 15-year compliance period is designed as an evolutionary, educational period where residents are instructed and guided toward homeownership – physically (i.e. how to change a furnace filter or light bulb), financially (job preparedness / budget training / credit counseling; building down-payment assistance), and emotionally (thinking independently about solving problems and managing the responsibility of homeownership). In Year 15, HANDS will purchase the tax credit partnership for the balance of the outstanding debt on the property plus exit taxes, insurance, and closing costs. Beginning in Year 16, HANDS will then provide the current resident the right of first refusal, but not the obligation, to purchase their home.

Some of the value-added amenities include two-car attached garages, full basements, energy star rated washers, dryers, kitchen appliances and windows, and central HVAC. In addition, six of the homes serve special-needs households such as family members with physical disabilities, sensory/mobility impairments and families in transition.

HANDS uses its 40 years of management experience with affordable family-oriented properties to provide an array of supportive services to the residents including career and job counseling, job readiness, workforce education training, homeownership counseling, parenting workshops, transportation, childcare, nutrition and recreational activities.

Honorable Mention:

PHFA Director Brian Hudson, used Edinboro Family Homes in a presentation to the House Ways & Means Committee in Washington, D.C., as an example of what could be achieved through the LIHTC program.