Rendering of proposed The Mill at Easton. (Submitted) –
PIRHL Developers LLC of Cleveland, Ohio has received tax credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority totaling more than $2.3 million to help pay for an affordable-housing project on Easton’s south side.
The developer is turning the blighted Stewart Silk Mill property on Coal Street, also known as the Black Diamond factory, into a 55-unit, two-building apartment complex to be known as The Mill at Easton.
The tax credits are part of more than $41.6 million in low-income housing tax credits the state recently announced for 39 affordable housing projects in the state.
“Tax credits are the best tool we have for funding the construction of affordable rental housing,” said Gov. Tom Wolf in a release announcing the funding. “Tax credits provide the incentive for investment, which in turn funds the construction. The end result is more affordable housing options for Pennsylvanians.”
Lara Schwager, vice president of development for PIRHL, said the project, which will have 11 1-bedroom, 32 2-bedroom and 14 3-bedroom apartments, is on a brownfields.
Her company also received an Industrial Sites Reuse Program grant of $1 million from the state Department of Community and Economic Eevelopment for the cleanup of the site.
Schwager said construction of The Mill will begin during the second quarter of 2020, but remediation work on the site will begin sooner.
The construction is expected to take between 14 months and 16 months. Schwager did not have a total cost for the redevelopment project.
PIRHL is a full-service developer, general contractor and owner of single-family and multi-family housing. The company has developed over 50 properties and over 4,500 units, serving clients in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States.
