MERCER COUNTY Groundbreakings scheduled in 2 projects

Housing for low-income families and victims of abuse are on the horizon.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The city has scheduled two groundbreakings Monday, one for a single-family affordable housing project and the other for transitional housing for abused women and children.
The first is set for 10 a.m. at 377 A St. on the city's West Hill, where Sharon, in conjunction with the Community Action Partnership of Mercer County, will erect a single home to be sold to a low- or moderate-income family.
The second, at the former Florence Street Playground, will immediately follow.
That one is for two duplexes to provide housing for abuse victims for up to two years.
That project is being done in conjunction with both Community Action Partnership and Alternatives for Women: Advocacy, Resources and Education.
AWARE runs an emergency shelter for abused women and their children in Sharon, but people can stay in that facility for only 30 days.
The result is that they frequently wind up back in their abusive home environment because they have nowhere else to go, said officials who support the plan for transitional housing.
Sharon secured a $148,613 state Department of Community & amp; Economic Development grant to help with the duplex construction.
Community Action Partnership, which will own the facility, used that money to secure a like amount of federal funds to complete the financing.
Other details
The single-family home to be built on A Street is the first of three proposed houses in a program to foster home ownership among low- and moderate-income families.
Sharon is using $280,000 from its federal Community Development Block Grant allocation to finance the construction of the three houses. The Mercer County Affordable Housing Trust Fund is putting up $15,000 for the project.
Community Action Partnership is the project developer and will handle selling the house to a qualified family.
It will be a three-bedroom, 11/2-bath home with a full basement.
The estimated construction cost is $90,000, but that's now what a buyer will pay. The house will be appraised once it is done and will then be sold at or near the appraised value.
The house is expected to appraise for substantially less than the actual total project cost and will likely sell in the range of about $38,000, officials have said.
A specific buyer hasn't been targeted for the house. Once the structure is ready, Community Action Partnership will accept applications from interested families.