HDC MidAtlantic to host ribbon cutting ceremony

HDC MidAtlantic President & CEO Michael R. Carper invites the community to a ribbon cutting ceremony for Heritage Point Apartments—a 56 unit affordable apartment community for working families, seniors, and individuals living with disabilities—on Monday, October 2, 2017, 10:30 am, at 151 Dana Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Special guest speakers include State Senator John Yudichak, City of Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George as well as the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s Executive Director & CEO Brian Hudson.

Heritage Point Apartments was constructed on a former hospital site located on Dana Street. The vandalized and blighted property had become an eyesore to the community. The City of Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley Health & Education Foundation, who donated the property to HDC MidAtlantic, sought a developer to transform it into a useful, sustainable and beneficial asset to the neighborhood and greater Wilkes-Barre community.

Heritage Point Apartments offers one, two and three bedroom apartments with heights and setbacks consistent with the architecture in the surrounding neighborhood. All ground floor units are 100% visitable with at least 10% of units meeting current ADA accessible guidelines. In addition, the development includes a 1,500 sq. ft. community room and 86 on-site parking spaces.

Other amenities include on-site laundry facilities and access to nearby community assets including a bus stop, place of worship, public park and pharmacy. A full-service grocery store is located only three miles from the property.

A portion of the new community was constructed according to Passive House—a set of rigorous, energy efficiency standards that result in dramatically reduced energy costs for residents.

HDC MidAtlantic will offer resident supportive services to assist residents with needs or access resources they may be eligible including health or educational workshops, individual support, or collaboration with other local social service support agencies.

In May 2015, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) awarded $1,148,260 in Low Income Housing Tax Credits to Heritage Point Apartments. Other sources of funding include support from the City of Wilkes-Barre and the County of Luzerne. The total cost of development was $14.4 million. Construction began in spring 2016.

In keeping with the goals and objectives of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, every unit has been made affordable to residents at or below 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). Over half of the development is affordable to individuals and families earning less than 50% of AMI.

Development partners include general contractor Caldwell, Heckles and Egan, Inc., tax credit equity investor CREA, construction lender Fulton Bank, and PHFA.

HDC MidAtlantic would like to thank and acknowledge the Wyoming Valley Health & Education Foundation, the City of Wilkes-Barre and the County of Luzerne for their efforts in the development of Heritage Point Apartments.

Founded in 1971, HDC MidAtlantic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing quality affordable rental homes for working families, seniors and individuals with disabilities throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. HDC MidAtlantic owns and/or manages more than 3,700 affordable homes for rent by delivering high-quality and secure housing solutions through innovative property management, real estate development, and resident supportive services. Learn more at www.hdcweb.com.

HDC MidAtlantic is part of the NeighborWorks network, an affiliation of more than 240 nonprofit organizations located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The NeighborWorks network was founded and is supported by NeighborWorks America, which creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities.