The Housing Authority of the City of Erie is proud to have received a $200,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund.
HACE will leverage this funding with other sources to rehabilitate the Better Housing property development on East 16th to 17th between Holland and German. HACE purchased this property in 2019 and has spent $1.4 million to-date on renovations, $750,000 of which was covered through PHARE grants.
This final phase of the rehabilitation will remove stucco and vinyl siding and replace with durable, energy-efficient cement board siding; replace all front doors; replace an under-utilized parking lot with green space; restore curbs and install 450′ of wrought iron fence to enhance safety and curb appeal; update 12 HVAC units; change the name and create new signage; and install landscaping, address numbers, and exterior lighting. During the Meet Your Neighbor Day on July 15, residents will be invited to choose the color of their front door and vote on renaming the development.
The awards were announced on June 11. The full list of projects is available at 2026 PHARE Project Summaries. Congratulations to the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Erie, Bayfront East Side Taskforce, St. Martin Center, the City of Erie, Erie County Department of Human Services, Mercy Center for Women, and Erie’s Black Wall Street on their awards.
There are so many exciting projects and initiatives happening in Erie, and we are grateful for the commitment, passion, and hard work of our community partners and the support of PHFA to help create housing opportunities for the people of Erie. Please stay tuned for details.
