Milburn Apartments is a small development with eight units, but it’s big in purpose.
Located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the development has transformed two properties that the mayor recently described as a “fire-ravaged shell” into new affordable homes for individuals and families at risk of homelessness.
It’s also the largest project to date by Chestnut Housing, a nonprofit that began as a program of East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church.
“We were able to bring eight essentially brand-new units into the neighborhood with this project,” says executive director Chad Martin, noting there’s only been a smattering of new housing in the area in recent years. “This is highly visible within the landscape of this neighborhood.”
Chestnut Housing rehabilitated one severely damaged property into six studio apartments. The neighboring site, which was also uninhabitable, has been rehabilitated into a pair of two-bedroom units.
As a result, Milburn Apartments is about to provide vital housing to households who have recently experienced homelessness and revitalizes the blighted sites for the community.
The nonprofit was able to assemble three pandemic-related funding sources to make the approximately $2.2 million project possible and to boost the nonprofit’s capacity, according to Martin.
Courtesy Chestnut Housing
This included early grant funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) through the city of Lancaster, which dedicated a portion of its ARPA resources to affordable housing. Additionally, Chestnut Housing secured a special HOME Investment Partnerships-ARPA award as well as Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds through the Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities to finance the development.
The High Foundation and numerous individuals also contributed key funding to Milburn Apartments, and over 100 volunteers have contributed over 1,000 hours of in-kind labor to complete the project.
“It’s a unique story in leveraging these pandemic sources to gain our footing with how we access public funding sources,” Martin says. “We’re now moving on to other projects where we are tapping a wide array of state and federal sources. It was the Milburn project that positioned our organization to be able to do that.”
Building on the momentum gained by the development, the organization has two additional projects in the works, including the adaptive reuse of a former historic hotel and restaurant site to provide 11 affordable apartments and two office units. Chestnut Housing is also partnering with a number of local congregations and donors to create another project that will add 12 to 15 new apartments.
