Burns seeks answers on Oakhurst and Coopersdale public housing redevelopment plan

Would ‘transformation’ mean ‘relocation’ of up to 631 units?

EBENSBURG, May 31 – Clued in by a concerned tenant who shared a notice that Oakhurst and Coopersdale public housing are now in play for a wholesale redevelopment, state Rep. Frank Burns is reiterating his call for the Johnstown Housing Authority to reveal what impact HUD’s required “equity plan” could have on the effort.

Burns, D-Cambria, said the notice sent his way said public meetings held today in Oakhurst and tomorrow in Coopersdale are to discuss the JHA’s pursuit of a Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant, as part of a “Transformation Plan” for those communities.

Burns said the JHA is looking to “explore rehabilitation and redesign potential, and assess the potential of mixed-income redevelopment with a public-private financing model,” according to the notice.

According to the facilities listing on the JHA website, Oakhurst has 100 units, Oakhurst Extension has 300 units and Coopersdale has 121 units. Added to the 110 units at the recently vacated Prospect community, that means 631 of the JHA’s 983 family housing units could be impacted by redevelopment.

“What’s unclear at this point is whether those communities would be rebuilt at their current locations, which are all in the city of Johnstown, or whether they could be placed elsewhere in Cambria County,” Burns said, noting that the JHA currently operates a 56-unit complex in Nanty Glo and a 46-unit complex in Portage.

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“While it may be noble and practical for the JHA to seek tenant input as it pursues funding to upgrade its housing, it’s equally important to let other Cambria County communities – people in Richland, Westmont, Upper Yoder, Ebensburg and elsewhere – know if any ‘mixed-income redevelopment’ of public housing could potentially impact them.” – Rep. Burns

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“While it may be noble and practical for the JHA to seek tenant input as it pursues funding to upgrade its housing, it’s equally important to let other Cambria County communities – people in Richland, Westmont, Upper Yoder, Ebensburg and elsewhere – know if any ‘mixed-income redevelopment’ of public housing could potentially impact them.”

Burns said his concerns as an elected official are rooted in whether local municipalities are aware of – or will have any say – in JHA compliance with a Biden administration rule that requires cities, states and local governments to submit equity plans in order to continue receiving HUD funding.

“If this is not going to be a factor, then the JHA should come out and say so,” Burns said. “But if it is, they should be forthright in telling us how, when and where. I don’t understand why they’d be reluctant to do that.”