The East Liberty, Larimer, and Garfield neighborhoods of Pittsburgh have experienced economic adversity as a result of policies dating back to post-Depression redlining and urban renewal efforts of the 1960s. During the urban renewal era, much of East Liberty’s housing stock was converted to commercial tracts and for-sale housing was replaced
with rental inventory. The eventual shift of residency and retail away from the urban core to outlying suburbs precipitated significant abandonment and blight in Pittsburgh’s East End, resulting in depressed market values and decayed housing stock.

The poor condition of the existing housing stock makes the cost of rehabbed housing unaffordable to low- and moderate-income buyers. With $7 million NMTC allocation from Pittsburgh Urban Initiatives and leverage loans from Dollar Bank, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, and LISC, ELDI financed 26 affordable, for-sale homes, including 6 newly constructed structures and the acquisition/rehabilitation of 20 additional homes in neighborhoods where 80 percent of the housing stock is rental units. Thanks to the NMTC, ELDI subsidized the cost and sold the homes at a price that is affordable to low-income buyers.

The addition of affordable, for-sale inventory provides East End residents with an accessible avenue to homeownership, strengthening residential engagement, building individual wealth, and improving the quality of life for East Liberty families. The community benefits from a stabilized base of residents vested in their neighborhoods and generating new tax revenue for public infrastructure, education, and other local priorities.

The project made 18 homes available to low-income homeowners and 8 available at market rate for mixed income buyers, encouraging neighborhood revitalization. Low-income buyers also benefit from pre-purchase financial counseling and support to help ensure their homeownership success.