HEARTH at Benet Woods News
Rain Garden Planting
at HEARTH at Benet Woods
Under the supervision of HEARTH at Benet Woods Board Member Arlene Grubbs, volunteers from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and Thrivent Foundation spent the morning of Friday, May 21st planting the rain gardens at HEARTH at Benet Woods.
Click photo to enlarge
The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania defines rain gardens as, “a simple man-made structure that replicates nature’s own filtration system. It is a natural looking area built in a depression designed to capture runoff from hard surfaces.”
The rain from the week and the overcast skies made for perfect planting weather. Soon the HEARTH at Benet Woods rain gardens will be flourishing with various grasses and flowers that will slow, clean and allow clean rain water to soak back into the ground.
Benet Woods First Financial Meeting Held
HEARTH at Benet Woods recently opened. To commence, the residing families had their first financial guidance meeting in the Benet Woods Community Center.
Permanent Affordable Housing Program Coordinator, Meghan Labiaux, was there to introduce herself and explain how the monthly meetings would go. She reviewed various types of local resources many might be unaware of and that these resources would be covered during the monthly financial training to help the families progress their financial independence and stability.
A representative from Tri State Bank came in to meet the residents and discussed what would the topics of future meetings would be. The representative also discussed investment options.
Seven families living at Benet Woods were represented by at least one family member with a total of nine attending.
Volunteers Honored at the Opening of HEARTH at Benet Woods
At the November 4th, 2009 opening of HEARTH at Benet Woods, Executive Director Judy Eakin acknowledged and honored those who helped make the creation of Benet Woods possible as Volunteers of the Year. The skill, time, and talents of volunteers make a huge difference to the quality of life for the clients we serve. Here are two wonderful examples of how they impacted HEARTH at Benet Woods.
HEARTH honored the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) as Volunteer Group of the Year. Throughout the years, the ASID has gone above and beyond to help HEARTH in times of need.
At Benedictine Place when the apartments were in need of furniture, ASID helped furnish 15 apartments. When Benedictine Place was in need of window treatments, ASID stepped in and supplied those for the apartments. They continue to help when needed and when the design of the Community Room for HEARTH at Benet Woods came up they stepped right in - gathering donations for furniture, window treatments and held a fund-raiser among their members in order to further support Benet Woods.
Kathy Stewart, a member of ASID was honored as Volunteer of the Year. From flooring to carpets, to wall colors to light fixtures, to the siding and trim of each six units, to the 12 colors of every front door – Kathy was an integral part of those design decisions including spending a day arranging siding, trim and doors so that everything was unique but harmonious. She was so influential the architects began working with Kathy directly, only coming to HEARTH for final decisions. All this was done on her own time. Kathy truly is responsible for the individuality and beauty of each unit.
Coming Home
Affordable housing gives families a new start. Read the article from Post-Gazette.com
Grand Opening Click photos to enlarge
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| Front of one of the units used for Ribbon Cutting Ceremony | Ribbon being cut from left to right Bill Gatti, Jane Downing, Debbie Flinner, Jerry Drozynski, Brenda Wells and Dennis Davin |
Volunteer of the Year, Kathy Stewart being honored by HEARTH Executive Director Judy Eakin |
Construction Phase Click photos to enlarge
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HEARTH at Benet Woods – Bridging the “Affordability Gap” Amongst Working Families with Modest Incomes
Working families earning modest incomes are under pressure from all sides financially with today’s stretch of the dollar – precisely why a new development, HEARTH at Benet Woods, is underway. The new Benet Woods community addresses the “affordability gap” between what working families can afford and the cost of housing.
HEARTH at Benet Woods is Northern Allegheny County’s first permanent, affordable rental housing community created for working individuals, seniors, and families who will pay an average monthly rent of $700 and must have incomes ranging from approximately $24,800 to $37,200, depending on family size.
Housing is considered to be affordable when it costs no more than 30 percent of a household’s annual income. Through more affordable rental rates, Benet Woods community members can expect to have extra monies (that would otherwise be spent on housing) to cover the rising costs of groceries, child care, health insurance, and other life essentials.
HEARTH at Benet Woods will consist of 11 two- and three-bedroom units, and a community room. Two of the units will be handicap accessible. The new property is an Energy Star® certified development meeting the green building criteria of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. Among many environmentally friendly features, the units will have “green” carpet, water-saving devices and numerous Energy Star® benefits.
Benet Woods Housing Corporation is very grateful to have received a tremendous amount of support from funding sources, businesses and individuals who understand that the availability of more affordable, modest-income housing can help to strengthen the local workforce and economy, as well as those caught in Allegheny County’s expanding “housing affordability gap.”
HEARTH at Benet Woods will be a tax paying property with tax paying residents, and funding sources for HEARTH at Benet Woods include the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, private foundations and individual donors.
Groundbreaking held for new housing project in Ross
Two-month-old Kayman Edwards was by far the youngest person at the groundbreaking for Hearth at Benet Woods. Read the full article
Ross duplex construction, healing begin
More than six months after a controversial housing plan landed Ross officials in court and angered a fearful neighborhood, the wounds are healing as work on Hearth at Benet Woods begins. Read the full article
ASID PA West To Design Community Room
Benet Woods Housing Corporation is excited to announce that the American Society of Interior Designers PA West Chapter will be donating their time and expertise to design and furnish the multi-purpose community room for Benet Woods. “ASID did such a fantastic job helping HEARTH furnish and decorate the Benedictine Place apartments 13 years ago we immediately thought of them when it came time to make plans for Benet Woods,” says Judy Eakin, Executive Director.
The community room will play an important role in the HEARTH at Benet Woods housing development. It will include an office for a part-time staff person who will help link Benet Wood’s residents to the supportive services they may need. The staff person can also arrange for trainings of topics that are of particular interest to the Benet Woods residents: whether it be budgeting, healthy cooking, or parenting.
The community room will also be available for the Benet Woods residents to host parties and social gatherings for friends and family. A kitchenette will allow families to prepare their party fare and enjoy time together.
HEARTH thanks the ASID PA West Chapter for their willingness to share their skills to create a functional and family friendly community room for the families who will live at Benet Woods.