BELLEFONTE — Centre County Commissioners recently announced another effort to assist local non-profits and affordable housing developers with improving access to affordable housing in the county. The Construction and Acquisition/Rehabilitation for Sustainable Housing grant program will soon begin accepting applications.
Beginning on July 1, applicants can request funds for the following eligible projects:
- Construct rental and owner-occupied housing
- Acquire and rehabilitate housing units to rent or sell
- Acquire land for a project to be completed within two years
Eligible applicants include housing authorities, redevelopment authorities, non-profit agencies, land trusts, affordable housing developers, and other related agencies.
Grant funds are made available through the county’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, established under Act 13 of 1992. Awarded projects must serve eligible people with a gross household income ranging between 30% and 100% of the Area Median Income for Centre County.
A cash match is not required to be awarded the CASH grant; however, using the grant to leverage other affordable housing funding is encouraged throughout the application process.
Commissioners highlighted the success this grant-leveraging model has had in the county to date. Despite the municipal and state agencies having a majority of the influence on affordable housing, the county strategically guides grant funds to help effect positive change in the affordable housing trend.
Rather than using 100% of a grant’s funds for a single large project, the commissioners direct funding to multiple projects throughout Centre County. Employing this grant-leveraging approach enabled the county to construct or rehabilitate more than 100 affordable housing units, according to Commissioner Chair Mark Higgins.
Commissioner Steve Dershem echoed Higgins’ sentiment, noting that part of the affordable housing effort includes keeping people in their homes. Dershem discussed two CDBG grants awarded for a sewer project in the Eagle Creek Subdivision that will keep 33 families in their homes, provide sewer access to a whole community, and spare dozens of households from paying excessive sewer bills. Dershem lauded this sewer project as an exemplar of leveraging grant funds to make multiple projects successful and more feasible.
The 2026 program marks the fourth year that the commissioners have made the grant available. Since its inception, the CASH grant program has awarded approximately $260,000 to projects at twelve properties.
The CASH application process opens on Wednesday, July 1 and closes on Friday, July 31, at 5 p.m. Interested parties can request an Act 137 Notice of Funding Application packet in person at the Centre County Planning and Community Development Office, 420 Holmes St., Bellefonte, or by emailing Betsy Barndt at bbarndt@centrecountypa.gov.
Project recommendations and grant award amounts for eligible projects will be announced on Tuesday, Sept. 1 during the 10 a.m. Board of Commissioners meeting.
