This Times Leader file photo shows an architect’s rendering of Brian’s Place, a five-unit apartment to provide permanent housing for homeless people proposed by the Volunteers of America Pennsylvania on East Division. State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski has announced that the VOA of Pennsylvania will receive $250,000 in state funding to use for the project.
Times Leader file photo
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WILKES-BARRE — State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski announced Friday that $450,000 in state funding has been awarded to two Luzerne County projects addressing blighted properties in his district.
The funds come from the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund, created in 2010 to allocate money for projects working on the creation, rehabilitation and support of affordable housing throughout Pennsylvania.
A release issued from Pashinski’s office on Friday provided details about the fund allocation.
The PHARE funds have been split between two Luzerne County organizations for their projects: the Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania’s Brian’s Place project, which will receive $250,000, and the Lower South Valley Land Bank, which will receive $200,000.
The Brian’s Place project seeks to transform a vacant, blighted property in Wilkes-Barre into at least five units of affordable, energy-efficient units for adults experiencing homelessness or housing instability. The plan also includes a common area that will serve as a day space option for those experiencing homelessness.
The land bank will use the funds to address three blighted properties in their jurisdiction. The plan is to acquire, secure, rehabilitate and eventually sell three blighted residential properties to low-to-moderate income households.