$316,000 Apartments for Low-Income Families in Tamaqua

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) has approved $3.8 million in financing to convert an old building in Tamaqua into 12 apartments to house low-to-moderate tenants. The committee awarded Tamaqua Area Community Partnership (TACP):

  • $500,000 from PennHOMES (a state agency)
  • $2.3 million in federal housing tax credits
  • $481,000 in historic preservation tax credits
  • $450,000 will come from local equity

TACP was founded in 1994 with the help of now-Sen. Argall. If the organization sounds familiar, it might be because it was involved in a scandal-of-sorts, at the start of 2010, when they used taxpayer money to buy a property and then sold the property to a former board member for less.

At $3.8 million, 12 apartments will cost $316,000 each. With $3.8 million, PHFA could build 25 new $150,000 homes for families.

TACP was awarded historic preservation tax credits to convert the building, which originally was a boxing hall, and more recently, an archery range and gymnasium. You can check out the first link to see this “historic building” for yourself. This serves as yet another example of why taxpayers need greater spending transparency and accountability in Pennsylvania.