The Camp Curtin YMCA built four new affordable homes on the corner of Woodbine and Jefferson streets in Harrisburg.
Four Harrisburg families are new homeowners, thanks to a local housing initiative.
The Camp Curtin YMCA, along with local officials, cut the ribbon on its four new affordable homes in Uptown, which will provide housing to lower-income area families.
“We are so excited to welcome four new families to the neighborhood,” said David Ozmore, president and CEO of the Harrisburg Area YMCA. “This is a great day, and it should be a celebratory day for each of the families.”
The Camp Curtin branch of the Y kicked off its “Cornerstone Initiative,” to provide homeownership opportunities to low-income families in Harrisburg, in October 2021 with the groundbreaking of the affordable homes.
Thursday’s ceremony capped the $1.4 million project, as officials celebrated the completion of the four single-family homes located at the corner of Woodbine and Jefferson streets, just down the street from the Y.
Harrisburg Area YMCA officials and buyers of the new affordable homes cut the ribbon on the project.
Each 2,000-square-foot home cost homeowners $150,000 and includes four bedrooms, three baths and off-street parking. Buyers participated in first-time homeowner classes.
Housing Development Director for the Harrisburg Area Y, Cathy Hall, said that the homeownership opportunity provides families with instant equity, pride and the ability to build generational wealth.
“Handing a person a key to their first-ever home is handing them a key to the future,” Hall said.
Harrisburg resident Tara Roland will move into one of the homes with her two sons in the coming days. After applying for the housing, Roland waited to hear if her name would be chosen through the raffle-style selection. When it was, she was excited.
“This is a big step,” Roland said. “This is a blessing. It’s a good feeling.”
All funds for the project came through state and local grants, officials stated.
According to Hall, the Y already has plans to build more affordable housing in the Uptown area both to provide families with places to live and to revitalize the community.
“I hope that this Cornerstone Initiative build is the first of many to follow,” Ozmore said.
For more information about the Camp Curtin YMCA’s Harrisburg Cornerstone initiative, visit their website.
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