Lu Hoover, a borough planner, said the funds have already been allocated to the borough for this project, the environmental review is done and the only thing needed is application to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the release of the funds.

The new apartments will be at 460 Waupelani Drive, between the University Park Nursing Center and the South Hills Business School, Lu Hoover said. Hoover said the borough plans on purchasing the property in early November and will begin construction after the purchase.

Construction will be done by S&A Homes, Inc., which built Yorkshire Village on Southgate Drive, another project funded by CDBG funds for the borough, Hoover said.

The two apartment buildings will be 2 1/2-story townhouses with three to four bedrooms. There will be 35 units available to single families who qualify. Hoover said families "have to qualify income-wise to live there."

One of the townhouses will be set aside for a resident manager, State College Borough Council President Janet Knauer said.

Knauer said this arrangement has worked in the past to prevent problems and concerns in the community, as well as the residents of the new housing.

The Community Development Block Grant used to fund this housing is federal money. It is "money to develop communities," said Ralph Stewart, borough manager of Bellefonte.

But for a community to receive the money, Stewart said, there are a few catches. First the community must have a population with 51 percent or greater low- to moderate-income levels, he said.

To determine the income levels the community uses census data, and because of a large number of students who do not have an income or work minimum-wage jobs, State College is an entitlement community, Stewart said.

This enables State College to get the money directly from HUD, rather than through the state CDBG funding, according to the HUD Web site, www.hud.gov.

"There are different categories of how you can spend this money, but the community can have a say," Stewart said. "It is a very good source of money for boroughs who qualify, it can be used for housing or water lines or other things."

Some of the other things the money can be used for is to reconstruct existing property, to create housing, community education and training for adults and youth, special economic development to bring business into the area, crime reduction, homebuyer assistance and the building and improving of public facilities, such as the water systems that Stewart mentioned.