Blue Course Commons, formerly Pheasant Glen, was an affordable housing community, but its owners are converting and marketing the property as another student living option.
The accompanying rent increases will mean some tenants will have to uproot their families.
“A change like this will have an immediate and long-term effect on our community,” says Jennifer Stahl, housing case manager at Housing Transitions, which offers housing services to residents in need. “Pheasant Glen was one of an already limited number of affordable residential complexes.”
The owners’ plan for the property, which is located on Blue Course Drive, to house an entirely student population within the next four years, as about 20 out of the 90 units are vacated each year, according to Stahl.
Current tenants pay below-market value, just more than $1,000 for the three- and four-bedroom units. The conversion, marked by increasing rents — $1,650 for three bedroom units and $2,000 for four bedroom units — will dismiss income-eligible and tax-credit assistance programs, Stahl says.
Affordable housing is a complex struggle for the borough, says Peter Morris, a State College Borough Council member — especially when real estate developers can anticipate higher returns renting to students.
“Students naturally want to live close to downtown and they are willing to pay for it,” Morris says.
Penn State’s student population is also steadily growing and sprawling out to neighboring townships. The student population in Ferguson Township — the same township where Blue Course Commons is located — has grown by 32.9 percent from 2008 to 2012, while the number of family households declines, according to the Fair Housing Analysis Update for State College.
However, many adjunct faculty members, and other university staff, are in need of affordable housing, says State College mayor Elizabeth Goreham. And located barely a mile away from campus, “the location was a deal for families that work and only have one vehicle,” adds Natalie Corman, director of the Office of Adult Services.
Not to mention, “everything was so close,” including a school directly across the street and number of nearby parks, Corman says. Plus, it was a place where families could become successful — at an affordable price — she notes.
Eligible tenants could use Section 8 housing vouchers only because the rent was below market value. Rent assistance was also available through the property’s tax-credit designation.
“A lot of people were able to live there because their income was at that level for tax credit, so it let them have a great place in a great place in the town,” Corman says.
The conversion has already taken place in that the complex is no longer a tax-credit property. And Blue Course Commons has informed current tenants that their rents will go up to $1,069 for three-bedroom units and $1,188 for four-bedroom units; tenants will also be required to bring their security deposit up to the new rental fee, Stahl says.
Two families have already reached out to Adult Services concerned with their ability to afford rent and other new expenses in their house, Stahl says.
While there are other tax credit projects near State College, including Limerock Terrace, many of these projects are already full, Corman says. And, moving in itself is a great expense for families, with the need for new application fees, security deposits, first and last month rent, and more, Stahl adds.
Still, despite an affordable housing property lost, 10 percent of all properties are required to be affordable by law, Goreham says. And the borough is committed to expanding and integrating options beyond what is already required.
Borough council, for example, has adopted several programs including the Housing Investment Project, where student housing is purchased and resold at a reasonable price, Goreham says. Other new housing construction projects are determined to designate portions as affordable.
And, projects such as the Land Trust work to reduce prices of homes through out the country, including State College.
Even as tenants at Blue Course Commons seek new housing within the next four years, there are always other living issues to chew over, including the lack of affordable housing for students and the housing division between students and community members.
“Our community as a whole needs to continue to bring ideas and concerns to the table,” Stahl says. “Our community is rich with talent and resources to solve our housing demands.”
Blue Course Commons property manager Mary Adams with Property Management Inc. declined to comment for the story.
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