Burns seeking answers about Johnstown housing redevelopment plan

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) – A notice that tenants of the Oakhurst and Coopersdale public housing received has left State Representative Frank Burns (D-Cambria) looking for more answers.

Burns says that occupants received a notice, pictured below, from the Johnstown Housing Authority stating that the housing is now in play for wholesale redevelopment due to their application for a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Oakhurst has 100 units, Oakhurst Extension has 300 units and Coopersdale has 121 units, according to the JHA Website. 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.

The Prospect Housing was recently inspected by the Diviney & Associates Structural Engineers which detailed the repairs necessary for the apartment complex. The engineers stated that residents of this housing complex were evicted due to structural problems in all buildings.

“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.

The JHA also noted that there will be two public meetings to discuss the JHA’s pursuit of a Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant that residents are encouraged to attend. Here are the dates and times:

• Wednesday, May 31: 11 a.m. at the Oakhurst Community Room
• Thursday, June 1: 11 a.m. at the Coopersdale Community Room

“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.

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.