PHFA Awards $4.3M for Mixed-Use Projects in PA Third-Class Cities

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) announced on April 16, 2026 that it is awarding $4.3 million in Community Revitalization Fund Program credits to six mixed-use development projects across the commonwealth. The funding round intentionally prioritized applications from Pennsylvania's smaller municipalities and third-class cities, reflecting a continued state effort to steer affordable-housing and commercial investment into communities that have historically struggled to attract private capital.

What The Program Does

The Mixed-Use Development Tax Credit Program was created as part of the commonwealth's fiscal year 2016 budget. Under the program, PHFA is allocated up to $4.5 million in state tax credits each year, which it sells to generate the capital deployed through the Community Revitalization Fund. Awards go to projects that combine affordable rental housing with retail or commercial space in a single building, including rehabilitations, structural conversions, commercial buildouts, and new construction.

Eligible applicants include units of local government (counties, cities, and boroughs), redevelopment authorities, for-profit developers, non-profit organizations, and economic development entities.

Why Third-Class Cities

Pennsylvania classifies its cities by population, and third-class cities are the commonwealth's smaller urban centers outside Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton. In the Request for Proposals issued on August 25, 2025, PHFA stated that applications from third-class cities would receive higher priority during evaluation, a policy aimed at directing revitalization capital where economic need is greatest and where a single mixed-use project can meaningfully shift a downtown's trajectory.

The Six Projects Funded

According to PHFA's April 16, 2026 announcement, the following projects received awards:

• Gettysburg Station Carlisle Building (Adams County) - $800,000
• 862 Spring Garden Ave. (Allegheny County) - $700,000
• 418-422 Penn Street Redevelopment (Berks County) - $700,000
• Bolstrum Bluff (Columbia County) - $600,000
• The Studios at 930 (Lehigh County) - $700,000
• Tassia Affordable Housing Project (York County) - $800,000

Together, these developments are expected to deliver 70 newly built or rehabilitated rental units - 53 of which will be reserved for households at or below 80% of area median income - along with 58,572 square feet of commercial space.

Official Statement

PHFA Executive Director Robin Wiessmann said in the announcement: "Communities across the state continue to face an urgent need for affordable rental homes, and the commercial components of these developments often serve as important economic engines for the neighborhoods they anchor."

What It Means For Homeowners And Renters

For Pennsylvania residents, the Community Revitalization Fund is not a direct-to-homeowner grant program. It is a developer-side funding stream. The downstream effect, however, is additional affordable rental housing and activated commercial storefronts in smaller cities. Renters in third-class cities with an awarded project should watch for lease-up notices from the developers listed above, and homeowners in surrounding blocks may see knock-on effects on property values and neighborhood investment as the projects come online.

Residents seeking direct homeowner assistance in Pennsylvania should look instead to PHFA's separate homebuyer loan and down-payment assistance programs.