A RENDERING OF UPTOWN FLATS, WHICH IS SET TO OPEN IN 2026 | RENDERING BY LGA PARTNERS

The squeeze on the shortage of low-income, affordable housing will ease a bit in 2026 when the $22 million, 34-unit Uptown Flats opens in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Uptown.

The folks living in this new project will be exiting homelessness, will have accessibility needs and will be on the path to self-sufficiency.

The project — in what’s described as an “innovative partnership” between developers Bethlehem Haven, a nonprofit that serves individuals at risk of homelessness, and ACTION-Housing, the city’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developer — broke ground on Oct. 2 in the 1400 block of Fifth Avenue.

The 36,000-square-foot, four-story building also will provide wrap-around support services provided on site by Bethlehem Haven for households at or below 30% of the Area Median Income. Residents will not pay more than 30% of their income in rent, and utilities will be included.

Related: How Is the Affordable Housing Crisis Affecting the Pittsburgh Hispanic Community?

Four units will be accessible to those with mobility needs and two will serve those with special hearing and/or vision needs.

“By integrating housing with health care and extensive supportive services, this project will improve lives by empowering residents on the path to self-sufficiency,” said Annette M. Fetchko, Bethlehem Haven’s executive director in a statement.

Bethlehem Haven, which became part of Pittsburgh Mercy Family of Care in 2016, has purchased four abandoned properties at 1400-1408 Fifth Ave., where the project will be built. Demolition of those buildings is expected to get underway in mid-October. Construction will begin in January.

“When Bethlehem Haven joined the Pittsburgh Mercy Family of Care in 2016, we made a promise to the community that we would be better together. We promised to use our 70 years of combined strengths and experience to expand our award-winning homeless services continuum to serve even more of the most vulnerable,” said Tony Beltran, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Mercy, in a statement.

The project is in what’s known as the West Oakland/Uptown EcoInnovation District, the first of its kind in Pittsburgh. Established during Mayor Bill Peduto’s Administration, the district was set up to support the community and help spur development and revitalize the corridor between Downtown and Oakland.

Among the projects underway is creation of a bus rapid transit project between Downtown and Oakland — now dubbed the “University Line” — that is expected to trigger more development along the 7.4 miles between these neighborhoods. It is expected to be completed in 2027.

Since the district plan was adopted by city officials in 2017, community organizations, institutions, employers and public agency partners have worked together to implement the plan. To support Pittsburgh’s growing economy, officials say Uptown is ”uniquely positioned to provide new spaces in a location easily accessible to these job centers.”

About Uptown Flats, ACTION-Housing’s new CEO Lena Andrews said in a statement: “Given the increasing need for affordable and supportive housing in Pittsburgh, this is exactly the type of project we should be building to support residents in a holistic way.” 

The building of Uptown Flats follows a yearlong, $4.2 million preservation and renovation of Bethlehem Haven’s 1410 Fifth Ave. location, a permanent supportive housing program for 26 women and gender non-conforming individuals. This was completed in March 2024.