PITTSBURGH, September 15, 2005 — UPMC South Side and the South Side Local Development Company (SSLDC) have announced an Employer Assisted Housing (EAH) program that will enable employees to save thousands of dollars when purchasing homes in South Pittsburgh, contributing to the burgeoning local economy.
Eligible employees will receive a $1,000 forgivable loan from UPMC South Side if they buy a home in any of four specified South Pittsburgh ZIP codes (15203, 15210, 15211, 15227), and an additional $1,000 grant from SSLDC if that home is in any of the neighborhoods it serves, including Allentown, Arlington, Beltzhoover, Knoxville, St. Clair and South Side. First-time buyers also may qualify for below market mortgage rates and fees as well as closing cost assistance and educational workshops through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).
“UPMC South Side is pleased to be partnering with the South Side Local Development Company and several outstanding financial institutions to enable more of our valued employees to live close to the hospital and contribute to the neighborhood’s economy,” said Nancy Magee, president of UPMC South Side.
“UPMC South Side values homeownership as a means to build individual wealth and recognizes the stabilizing effect that homeownership can have on a neighborhood,” remarked Bernard Kuzma, vice president of human resources at UPMC South Side. “We're pleased to be part of an innovative partnership that benefits our employees and the community-at-large, while reinforcing the community-focused values of UPMC South Side.”
Program partners include the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, Dollar Bank, Howard Hanna Financial Services and National City Bank. Each of the financial partners will provide additional incentives to participating homebuyers.
“The partnership leverages enough dollars to positively influence families and individuals who want to live near their workplace,” said Kevin Hanley of SSLDC. “The long-term impact to the South Side and nearby neighborhoods could include stabilizing homeownership rates, protecting the local environment with shorter commutes, and enabling local healthcare workers to build wealth and become engaged in their live-work community.”
The EAH program grew out of SSLDC's commitment to encouraging homeownership with strategies in addition to new construction. The intention is to make owning a home easier by providing access to educational and financial resources.
UPMC South Side is a full-service community hospital that continues to care for its community through state-of-the-art health care. The hospital has served the residents of the South Side since 1889, when the area was in its heyday of the iron, steel, glass and transportation industries. The hospital merged with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on May 1, 1996.
The UPMC Institute of Rehabilitation and Research (IRR) recently completed a move into UPMC South Side, which promises to position the health system as one of the leading rehabilitation programs in the country. UPMC IRR is a network of clinical services and research activities benefiting patients with brain injury, spinal cord injury, peripheral nerve disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and stroke.
That followed a move to UPMC South Side in December 2002 by the world-renowned UPMC orthopaedic sports medicine surgical staff and the renovation of two new state-of-the-art surgical orthopaedic operating rooms.
SSLDC is a nonprofit community development corporation founded in 1982 and committed to the historic preservation and revitalization of Pittsburgh’s South Side.
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