HOME program aids families

By BETH BAUMGARDNER
Collegian Staff Writer

People employed in State College who earn limited incomes often have to live outside the area because of its lack of affordable rental housing.

But a new housing program plans to make about 40 families State College residents.

The 1998 Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) program will be constructing 41 townhouses for low-income families as part of the Yorkshire Village Townhomes Project. These two- or three-bedroom townhouses will be built on Southgate Drive, said Adriene Weaver, State College borough planner.

The HOME program provides funding for new housing construction or the repair of existing housing, said Lu Hoover, senior borough planner.

Since State College became eligible in 1996, the program has funded the rehabilitation of an apartment complex for limited-income elderly and disabled people on Bellaire Avenue.

The new housing will be set aside for families, including a family with children or one anticipating them in the future, she said.

"I cannot tell you how many people can't afford to live in the immediate area of their job," said Jean McManis, State College Borough Council president.

Hoover said the borough compiles a consolidated plan to determine community needs every five years.

"(In) the last consolidated plan for 1995 to 1999, we identified a need for rental housing," Hoover said. "That's what spurred us to come up with a low-income rental housing (program)."

The townhouses will be set aside for families earning between 50 and 60 percent of the area's median income, which is $42,000 for a family of four. So a household of four earning $21,000 to $25,200, or lower, would qualify, Hoover said.

McManis said the levels are subject to change.

Students in need of housing also may qualify for the program, but requirements such as being a full-time student and having a family must be met.

"Presumably, students would be very welcome," said McManis, who specifically cited graduate students or older undergraduate students as likely candidates.

Thirty-nine units will be set aside for families whose income does not exceed 50 percent of the area median income; one unit will be set aside for a family not exceeding the 60 percent of the median income; and one unit will be reserved for a property manager or rental office unit, Hoover said.

The borough plans to finish construction by the end of the year, but whether the timeline will be adhered to is unclear, Hoover said.

Rent rates will vary with the size of the household, McManis said, but the maximum cost for a two-bedroom apartment will be about $370 per month, not including utilities.

The maximum for a three-bedroom unit is about $430 per month, not including utilities.

Applications for the housing program are handled through the borough planning department.