Housing authority plans for new senior apartments in Rostraver
Share this post:
Westmoreland County Housing Authority officials confirmed Wednesday that a property agreement has been reached for the planned construction of a 50-unit apartment complex in Rostraver.
Authority board members are expected to consider the proposed $600,000 purchase this month of six acres near Willowbrook Plaza on Route 51. It would be the site of the agency’s fifth new building project in the past decade.
Housing Authority Executive Director Michael Washowich said the proposed Willowbrook Commons is expected to cost about $14 million. The agency will submit an application in December with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency seeking federal tax credits to pay for the building project.
“We intend to build something that complements that beautiful plaza. We’ve been looking to build something in that area for a long time,” Washowich said.
The housing authority has solicited proposals from developers and architects, and officials said construction could begin in 2026 with residents slated to potentially move in the following year.
Bellevue Partners, the property’s current owner, has applied to Rostraver Township to change the zoning to accommodate the proposed housing authority construction to allow for residential and multi-family uses, according to Rostraver Township planner Tamira M. Spedaliere.
The authority and its nonprofit subsidiary operate 45 housing communities and about 2,500 units throughout Westmoreland County.
After more than three decades of stagnation, the housing authority launched a building program that since 2013 has resulted in construction of three apartment complexes for low income seniors.
South Greengate Commons, a 45-unit apartment building on a 55-acre site in Hempfield that once served as the agency’s headquarters, opened in 2013. Odin View Apartments, a 47-unit building next door to South Greensburg Commons, was completed in 2020.
Authority officials on Wednesday held a formal ribbon cutting for the 50-unit Grand View Senior Residences in Irwin, which residents started occupying earlier this summer. Washowich said all the building’s apartments are expected to be occupied by mid-October.
South Greengate Commons, Odin View Apartments and Grand View Senior Residences were built with financing obtained through federal tax credits.
Washowich said the authority expects to break ground next spring on Church View Estates, 24 single-family cottages for low-income seniors to be built on 2 acres in Norvelt, Mt. Pleasant Township. The authority is seeking loans to pay for the $6 million project on land donated in 2021 by the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg.