The Pittsburgh Housing Authority is moving residents into new apartments and townhouses built on the Elmore Square portion of Depression-era Addison Terrace in the Hill District.
Housing Authority Executive Director Caster Binion said Thursday that 16 people, including former Addison residents displaced by the construction, are moving into the newly christened Skyline Terrace development.
"We should have 75 people in by December," Binion said.
The authority in 2013 began replacing the crime-plagued housing project centered around Elmore Square and Bentley Drive with 400 residences that will be available to people of all income levels. The development includes new housing on city-owned land between Elmore and Centre Avenue.
The $186 million project is expected to house about 1,000 residents and act as a catalyst for redevelopment of Centre Avenue.
Binion said demolition is to begin in March on the Bentley Drive portion. About 80 people living there must relocate by Dec. 31, he said.
On Thursday, authority commissioners approved a $3.8 million loan that will help pay for the second phase of construction.
Chief Financial Officer Ed Mauk said the authority is loaning the money to Allies & Ross Management and Development Corp., a nonprofit arm of the housing authority, because it takes up to six months to obtain a loan guaranteed by the
Department of Housing & Urban Development. Allies & Ross and Columbus, Ohio-based Keith B. Keys Enterprises are redeveloping Addison and will own and manage it under a 99-year authority lease.
Mauk said the authority should earn 4.5 percent interest on the loan repayment. Binion said the authority is earning 0.06 percent interest on reserves in the bank.
"The main reason we're doing this is to move along our development schedule," Mauk said.
Fifty-six housing authority residents have found jobs on the construction site, Binion said. He said the goal is to employ 60.
Bob Bauder is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-765-2312 or bbauder [at] tribweb.com.
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