FARRELL HOUSING Hope VI restores Steel City complex

Centennial Place offers more than just new bricks and mortar.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
FARRELL, Pa. -- "They're beautiful. I love it. I couldn't wait to move in," said Sybil Vaughn as she gave a quick tour of her new apartment, at 202 Spearman Ave.
Vaughn and her daughter, Brandy, were among the first Mercer County Housing Authority tenants to move back to what was once known as the Steel City Terrace apartment complex.
It's now called Centennial Place, and it doesn't look anything like Steel City.
"I like the whole development better," Brandy said.
"It was like a little rough before," she said, explaining that she didn't like to spend time in Steel City.
It's a whole new neighborhood now, she said.
"I think it's a great environment to raise a child, Brandy said, noting that she is expecting her first child in September.
The differences
The old 100-unit complex featured barracks-style buildings aligned in rows along the street.
Centennial Place is a new neighborhood design that features apartments in duplexes and triplexes that look like single-family homes. It's not finished yet but will eventually feature 119 rental units and 26 single-family homes spread over a wider area than Steel City had occupied.
The idea is to make it blend into the surrounding residential area so the artificial boundary of public housing disappears into the community.
Occupancy
The first 19 new apartments are occupied, and 16 of the tenants are former Steel City residents. An additional 34 apartments will be ready for occupancy soon.
L. DeWitt Boosel, the authority's executive director, said Centennial Place is a HOPE VI project, a program named after the federal grant program that is putting up $9 million of the estimated $30 million development cost.
It's a project the authority couldn't finance on its own, so a partnership was formed with Falbo-Penrose of Pittsburgh, with that company serving as developer and manager of the new complex.
Other barriers
It's much more than just bricks and mortar, Boosel said, explaining that the authority has made an effort to help its tenants with other "barriers" they face, whether it be completing their education, getting job training or finding transportation to a job.
Toward that end, the authority has set aside $1.2 million of the HOPE VI grant to fund a community services program aimed at helping tenants, he said.
Participation in the program is mandatory for everyone moving into Centennial Place, said JoAnn Newell, program coordinator.
People with such problems as budgeting or housekeeping or who need help with additional education, job training, transportation and even baby-sitting can get the help they need, Newell said.
A variety of community service agencies have been enlisted to provide that assistance, she said.
Keystone SMILES
One of those active from the beginning is Keystone SMILES, a nonprofit service agency based in Knox, Pa., that has run the authority's Sharpsville Learning Center.
Keystone also has provided a basic, hands-on training program for tenants in such areas as simple carpentry, plumbing, electrical work and other skills people need to do basic home repairs, said Joyce Fosdick, Keystone's executive director.
More than 200 authority tenants (men and women) have been through the self-sufficiency training, Fosdick said
Some have gone on to get jobs in related fields, and Sybil Vaughn is one of them.
She has been hired as the first maintenance person for Centennial Place, said Duane Hampton, regional property manager for Falbo-Penrose.
Learning those basic skills is just one of the community services program offerings, Newell said.
Tenants who haven't completed their high school education have a chance to get their General Educational Development (GED) diploma, which removes one of the barricades to employment, she said.
There's a driver's license program for those who need but don't have one, computer training, job search and job keeping classes and even programs for young people to encourage them to begin thinking about careers, Newell said.
The community services program also focuses on entrepreneurship, encouraging tenants to start their own small businesses.
Moving back
Beverly Garner lived in Steel City and is on schedule to move back in about three weeks.
She has demonstrated her skills as a seamstress before, running quilt and pillow-making classes for the authority since 1997.
When Falbo-Penrose decided it needed some sort of window blind or curtain for the patio doors in the new development, Garner's name came up immediately, Newell said, adding that Garner now has a contract with the developer to make curtain sheers for the patio doors for every apartment.
"It could eventually become an occupation," Garner said, adding that she has no qualms about moving back into the area from her current apartment in housing authority property on Market Street.
"I used to live down there when I was little," Garner said.
She is excited about moving back into one of the new units, and her daughter and grandchild will move there with her, she said.
It's a better neighborhood now, she said.
Sought residence
Crystal Harper was living in an authority apartment in a complex on Quinby Street and asked to be moved into Centennial Place.
"It's definitely a better environment," said Harper, who moved into a Spearman Avenue apartment with her two children, ages 10 and 3.
"When I come home from a busy day at work, it's like I have my own home, not an apartment," she said. "It's comfortable. It's great."
Pride for homes
One goal for Falbo-Penrose is the creation of a community where people have pride in their homes, Hampton said. Each apartment has its own private entrances and private green space, and everyone is required to attend monthly meetings to encourage participation in the community.
"The glue, really, is supportive services," Hampton said, explaining that HOPE VI uses those services to make sure people are successful in maintaining their apartments.
Boosel said community services has recently developed and installed a tracking system for every resident involved in the program.
The Residence Accountability Processing Information Data Base is designed so that no one is left behind, Newell said. The system flags any problems residents might be having that don't necessarily surface at the monthly meetings, she said.