Centre County officials celebrate new affordable, energy-efficient rentals in State College

With accessible, one-bedroom rental units in short supply in State College, local officials came together Wednesday to celebrate the debut of two new low-income, energy-efficient apartments.

The Old Boalsburg Road (OBR) Flats apartment building at 821 Old Boalsburg Road is the result of a collaboration between the State College Borough, The HOME Foundation of Centre County (THF) and the State College Community Land Trust. It was built atop a former parking lot and contains an American Disabilities Act-accessible, one-bedroom unit on the first floor, and another one-bedroom unit on the second floor.

Each unit comes with a full kitchen, a living room space, a bedroom and a bathroom, and THF Executive Director Morgan Wasikonis said that they will be made available for tenants that make less than 50% of the county’s median annual income, which according to Data U.S.A. sits at $72,748.

The land the building sits on is under a 99-year renewable ground lease by the SCCLT, which ensures that the apartments remain used as affordable housing over the next near-century — an effort that Wasikoni believes will help mitigate one of the area’s most prominent housing issues.

“We really have a shortage of one-bedroom apartments in Centre County and definitely in the borough — and certainly affordable ones and definitely ones that are accessible,” Wasikonis said. “There just really aren’t a lot of one-bedroom units that are not for students.”

Originally, the project was planned as a small single-family home, but was redesigned after the 2023 State College Borough and Centre County Housing Needs Assessment identified a significant shortage of accessible, one-bedroom rental units.

“I think the old saying is ‘the journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step.’ Well, every day we have a first step of trying to figure the next step of what affordable housing looks like here in Centre County, and this is a pretty amazing example of what it really takes to make that happen,” Centre County Commissioner Steve Dershem said.

According to State College Borough Councilman Matt Herndon, the median cost for a one-bedroom apartment in the borough is $1,250. That amount would require tenants to make an annual income of at least $50,000 to pay rent without exceeding a housing cost burden of 30% of their income, he said.

“Many people who work jobs in the borough have incomes of less than $50,000 per year,” Herndon said. “Without affordable housing here we are pushing these people out, creating long commutes that increase traffic and pollution, fill up parking and strain their limited budgets even more.

“Projects like this allow us to become a more affordable, sustainable and inclusive community, where the people who work here can actually afford to live here too.”

This isn’t the first time these organizations have partnered to bring affordable housing to the OBR Flats area. In 2023, eight affordable town homes near the new apartment building were rehabilitated, and have been fully occupied since then.

Along with the new apartments’ affordability aspect, they also have several features that are meant to save energy and cut utility costs. That includes advanced insulation, balanced ventilation, efficient appliances and rooftop solar panels, which all contribute to near net-zero energy performance, improve indoor air quality and reduce emissions.

“When it comes to just energy efficiency, this is top shelf and state-of-the-art construction, and I think it represents a pretty good investment — not only for the folks today, but I’d suggest that probably 50, 60, 70, maybe 100 years from now, this building will still be standing and still be very useful,” Dershem said.

The project’s funding came from a variety of sources, including Centre County Government, the borough, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the HUD HOME Program and more, although a total cost was not shared.

Those looking to live in the apartments must first go to THF’s website and fill out a pre-screening application, which will ask how many people would live in the apartment and what their income level is.

From there, any potential tenants that qualify will be invited to complete a full application and an income certification with the borough. Borough staff then reviews the applications and confirms that the tenants qualify for the housing, with THF staff making the final call on who the official tenant will be.

Wasikonis told the CDT that she expects the apartments to be occupied by early 2026.