West Hills area veterans looking for an affordable place to call home could find an option that caters to their needs within the next two years or so.
That option could come in a portion of a 44-unit apartment building in the heart of McKees Rocks. Plans for that project took a step forward Tuesday night when the borough Planning Commission voted to recommend the borough council approve a needed lot consolidation and preliminary land development plans.
The commission’s recommendation was contingent upon resolving any comments that the borough engineer and Allegheny County have on the project, borough Manager LeeAnn Wozniak said Wednesday. Wozniak said it’s not yet known when the borough council will consider the project because those comments first must be received and resolved.
Action Housing Inc.is the lead developer behind the four-story building, which is located near the corner of Chartiers and Island avenues. The McKees Rocks Community Development Corp. owns the property and was instrumental in bringing Action Housing to the project.
Eleven of the Chartiers Avenue Apartments’ 44 units will be designated for veterans who meet specific income requirements. The project would “respond to the unique needs and design considerations of veterans,” according to a presentation provided by Action Housing.
According to its material, people earning 60% of the Pittsburgh area median income or less would be eligible to live in the new building. That would be roughly $60,000 for a family of three, $53,000 for two people and a little over $46,000 for one person. That would include a majority of McKees Rocks households, according to Action Housing.
The project will include 35 one-bedroom units and nine two-bedroom units as well as 1,600 square feet of ground floor retail space. The building is nearly 58,000 square feet in all.
Nine of the apartment units are considered mobility units, meaning they are designed to meet ADA standards for people who have mobility impairments or use a wheelchair. These units feature lower counters, roll-in showers and other amenities. Six of those units are one-bedroom and three are two-bedroom. In addition, one of the units is designed for someone who might have vision and/or hearing impairments.
The project has been in the works for some time, as plans were presented to the borough council in September 2023. It was made possible in part by $1.85 million in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for construction, state Sen. Wayne Fontana said last fall. The tax credits were awarded by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and Action Housing’s partnership with the McKees Rocks CDC.
The CDC will host a community meeting next month to discuss the project, according to Action Housing, and the nonprofit developer hopes to receive borough approvals sometime in the fall. If financing is in place early next year, the goal would be to start construction in February 2027 and if that’s the case, the building would be ready for occupancy in the fall of 2028.
Taris Vrcek, executive director of the McKees Rocks CDC, said the project “checks a number of boxes.”
“We’ve been looking for transformative infill development on Chartiers Avenue since completing the Roxian Theatre,” Vrcek said. “This was the next step. We’re really excited about this because it’s an example of what can be built on Chartiers Avenue that really complements the downtown esthetic but more important adds vital economic energy to the downtown.
“That’s the economic development perspective. But we’re also adding high-quality fantastic residential spaces that are a good fit for working residents in the community and veterans. This really just hits all the important criteria that we’re looking for.”
Vrcek said the CDC won’t be long-term property owners, but will turn the property over to the developers at some point. As for the first-floor retail space, Vrcek said there’s been “high interest in the community around food spaces” and that it might lend itself to a café or deli space.
According to Action Housing, the building itself will be designed to promote comfort, health and efficiency through energy-efficient HVAC systems, an airtight building envelope and abundant daylight with appropriate shading.
Veterans will be uppermost in the minds of those designing the building, according to Action Housing’s presentation, which featured several excerpts from an article titled “Designing for Calm: How Building Features Impact Veterans with PTSD.”
“Open spaces allowed veterans to see their surroundings and provided them with feelings of security,” one excerpt read. “Sharp turns and blind corners caused stress due to the inability to see what was around the bend.”
Another reads, “Larger hallways that allowed for increased maneuverability and reduced the chance of touching other people were preferred by veterans.” A third excerpt noted that veterans preferred natural light and that poor light, including too much artificial lighting, could trigger stress.
McKees Rocks Mayor David Flick called the project “a win on top of a win on top of a win.”
“The building is beautiful,” he said, referring to the renderings. “And it pays attention to the vibe that was there before.
“It’s very impressive.”
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