Funding Finalized for Flemington’s Susquehannock Heights Housing
FLEMINGTON – Final funding has been announced for Flemington’s Susquehannock Heights, a planned $8 million development to provide 32 units of affordable senior housing. The site is along the Flemington/Lock Haven boundary line, a long-vacant wooded 2-acre parcel just to the west of the Youngs Avenue/Linden Street intersection.
SEDA-COG Development Corporation applied for and recently received approval for $815,189 in federal low-income housing tax credits (leveraging $7.5 million in private equity from Jersey Shore State Bank and Woodlands Bank) and $228,675 in a PennHOMES loan. Financing participants also include Clinton County with $200,000 in CDBG and Act 137 funding. The Clinton County Housing Authority is providing $100,000 plus the right-of-way for the street extension. Local housing officials had been pursuing the project since 2014. SEDA-COG officials said they are aiming for a mid-October construction start-up with completion 10 months later. Interested applicants may apply now through SEDA-COG’S office
Susquehannock Heights will feature community, craft, and exercise rooms, a library, central laundry, computer café, and outside sitting areas. The monthly rent will be $550 for a one-bedroom apartment and $660 for a two-bedroom apartment for senior citizens ages 62 and older. This includes all utilities except telephone and TV. For applicants not able to afford the rent, the Clinton County Housing Authority will set aside $530,000 to create an internal rent subsidy fund used exclusively for Susquehannock Heights residents.
According to a SEDA-COG release, the complex offers affordable housing to seniors so they can safely downsize, while generating tax revenue. State Rep. Michael K. Hanna (D-Clinton/Centre), state Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson), and U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Howard) supported the project.
“This achievement was made possible by the county commissioners working with the state and local agencies to bring this much-needed senior citizen housing project to Clinton County,” said Clinton County Commissioner Jeffrey Snyder.
“The Clinton County Housing Authority has always been a champion for the development of more affordable housing in Clinton County. We are excited to be part of the Susquehannock Heights development, and look forward to assisting seniors, one of our county’s most vital but vulnerable populations,” said Jeff Rich, executive director of the Clinton County Housing Authority.
The Clinton County Housing Authority will provide day-to-day management at Susquehannock Heights, and the SEDA-COG HDC will maintain oversight responsibilities.
A study showed the need for additional elderly housing in the county, led by the Clinton County commissioners, the Lycoming-Clinton Counties Commission for Community Action (STEP Inc.), Clinton County Housing Authority, and Clinton County Planning Department. It showed a need for rental assistance to make Susquehannock Heights feasible for residents.
Mike Fisher, chief of the SEDA-COG Housing programs, thanked everyone involved. “This partnership effort enhances our communities’ offerings for its residents. The partnership with the county and the housing authority has made this project feasible with its innovative rental assistance, which is one-of-a-kind in Pennsylvania,” Fisher said.
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Executive Director and CEO Brian A. Hudson Sr. said in Gov. Tom Wolf’s press release, “We’re grateful that Congress retained the Low-income Housing Tax Credit program, and provided a slight increase, in last year’s tax reform bill. When you look at how well these tax credits leverage our public-private partnerships for building affordable housing, the value of this program is unmistakably clear.”
The SEDA-COG HDC’s other nine senior housing complexes are in Danville, Lewistown, Montoursville, lower Northumberland County, Selinsgrove, and Williamsport.
