On October 31, 2024, our partners at LEVEL: Equity Building hosted a groundbreaking event on Woodward Avenue to officially mark the construction phase of the “Rehab for Resale Project” in McKees Rocks.
Working in partnership with McKees Rocks leaders and stakeholders, LEVEL has completed the first of ten home rehabilitations. Just months after the first homeowners moved into this first home in the McKees Rocks Bottoms neighborhood, the team now begins construction on the next nine units which are spread across three streets within close proximity to each other.
This effort is specifically designated as an affordable homeownership initiative. LEVEL’s $4.2 million effort in McKees Rocks marks many “firsts” within the scope of affordable housing including receiving a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant for residential development.
“We are grateful to have been invited in and welcomed by this community and its leaders,” says Jason Tigano, LEVEL’s Founder and CEO. “Years of planning and dedication are coming to fruition, here, in McKees Rocks. We are setting the precedent with a dignified and ethical pathway to owning a home. The LEVEL team sees these first ten homes as strengthening our floor, not hitting our ceiling. And we couldn’t have piloted the Rehab for Resale program with a better, more dedicated group of people. ”
Throughout the country, perhaps for the first time, we are seeing our political leaders identify the solution to America’s housing crisis is increased homeownership. Affordable housing is often synonymous with singular apartments in large complexes, concentrations of poverty, and unlivable properties managed by absentee landlords. LEVEL aims to change the way Pennsylvania invests in its neighborhoods by empowering neighbors to acquire permanency of place.
“If McKees Rocks is to thrive, it must repopulate with owner-occupied housing,” commented Mayor David Flick. “We must begin to create generational wealth here, from the inside out. This project will help us to do that.”
As the gap between Main Street and Wall Street widens, we must rethink what community means in 2024 and beyond. Stable and thriving economies are only as healthy as the people who live and work in them. Homeownership provides much more than a place to live. It’s where children do their homework, where nutritional meals are cooked, where stories are told between generations. It’s the hub of the American Dream and LEVEL will help make that dream a reality for nine more families in McKees Rocks.
Community members and government officials gathered to celebrate the revitalization of nine homes that will become affordable residences for first-time homebuyers with remarks also provided by the following:
- LEVEL’s Board President David Caliguiri
- State Rep. Lindsay Powell, who has introduced legislation advocating for assisting individual families to own and repair their homes
- Deputy Secretary of Community and Economic Development Mandy Book, an early LEVEL partner, shared her perspective on what makes LEVEL’s approach innovative and its key differentiators.
- McKees Rocks Borough Council President Archie Brinza spoke about the need for increased homeownership in McKees Rocks and how LEVEL is helping to transform the community.
- Colin Kelly, NeighborWorks WPA CEO discussed the strategic partnership between their two organizations, both with a common goal to increase homeownership.
“We’re creating an ecosystem here to enable people to move from generational poverty and trauma to a place of success and prosperity. LEVEL creates housing stability, which is critical, and we know this by talking to our residents who are getting bounced around from one lousy rental property to another. We’re putting all the pieces together. This is not going to happen in one or two years, this is a generational intervention – it’s going to take a generational timeline.”
– Taris Vrcek, McKees Rocks CDC Executive Director
The LEVEL Path
– minimizing red tape separating renters from homeowners
To minimize red tape that separates renters from homeowners, LEVEL’s initiative will facilitate the purchase of ten formally blighted homes with its pilot program. Looking ahead, LEVEL and its partners in McKees Rocks expect to have these nine new units occupied throughout 2025.
LEVEL believes purchasing a home is much more than getting a mortgage and wants to set its first-time owners up for long-term success—before, during, and after the sale. As the LEVEL construction team gets to work on building the structures, the rest of the team works with McKees Rocks-qualified residents on preparing to own a home.
Partnering with NeighborWorks WPA, potential buyers participate in The LEVEL Path℠, a holistic approach to financial readiness and education. This method follows a roadmap that provides essential tools, guidance, and support every step of the way. Support doesn’t stop once the buyer gets their keys. Anyone can benefit from The LEVEL Path℠ and anyone interested in buying a home is encouraged to work with the group’s specialists.
Removing barriers to homeownership while providing an opportunity for underserved populations to participate in, and contribute to, thriving communities is the goal. This includes increasing access to single mothers, BIPOC (Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color), and veteran populations. LEVEL builds bridges from renters to owners. They encourage residents who rent (within guidelines, HUD <80 AMI), individuals on the Section-8 HUD voucher program, employees of designated employers offering housing assistance [5 Generation Bakers], and people with less than desirable credit to begin their journey to putting down roots in their neighborhood.
“We’re creating an ecosystem here to enable people to move from generational poverty and trauma to a place of success and prosperity,” remarked Taris Vrcek, McKees Rocks CDC Executive Director. “LEVEL creates housing stability, which is critical, and we know this by talking to our residents who are getting bounced around from one lousy rental property to another. We’re putting all the pieces together. This is not going to happen in one or two years, this is a generational intervention – it’s going to take a generational timeline.”
Brick by brick, house by house, street by street…LEVEL believes in its mission that homeownership can breathe life into distressed communities, in both the short and long term. The LEVEL team is currently in discussions with several local boroughs and their key stakeholders to bring the Rehab for Resale Program across Western PA. Tigano saw that the pathway to homeownership for low to moderate-income individuals and families was nearly impossible to navigate without effective support. To minimize red tape that separates renters from homeowners, LEVEL’s initiative will facilitate the purchase of ten formally blighted homes with its pilot program.
“There are many communities just like McKees Rocks across the state,” Tigano commented. “These are the type of communities where LEVEL needs to be— those with a high volume of renters, high vacancy rates, and many families who want to put down roots where they live. We are optimistic and eager to serve even more families in the near future.”
