Common Roots creating affordable homes in Meadville
It is one of 261 projects around the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and part of a $36 million initiative through the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP).
Three homes on Prospect Street in Meadville will be sold to three low-income families in the near future, giving a chance for those families to become homeowners.
"Creating the American dream, restoring a neighborhood, keeping families here," said Rick Vilello, deputy secretary for Community Affairs and Development with the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). "It's what it's all about."
The houses were originally student homes of Allegheny College no longer in use, and instead of tearing them down, the college decided to team up with Common Roots and make them usable again.
"I'd love to have students on our campus learn about [it] and then help us tell the story going forward," said Ron Cole, president of Allegheny College.
Common Roots says there is a housing problem that extends across the Commonwealth, but the local nonprofit is looking to change that narrative one house, one street at a time.
"So many towns across Pennsylvania are really struggling with housing issues," said Julie Wilson, director of Housing and Community Development at Common Roots. "[We've] got aging housing stock that needs a lot of love and a lot of people that need a good house."
The mayor of Meadville says it does more than just provide a roof overhead, but it also creates a community within her city.
"It gives people dignity where they live," Mayor Jaime Kinder of the City of Meadville said. "They get the dream of homeownership. It brings people here. They invest in my town. They work here, they love here and they live here."