Park Hill is a 167-townhouse complex in East Hills, on the Pittsburgh side of the city’s border with Penn Hills. “This was supposed to be an affordable housing community, mixed income, of homeowners, “said contractor Steve Catranel, whose father helped to develop and build Park Hill in the 1960s. But many early homeowners moved out or sold to absentee landlords, leading to blight and disrepair.
In 2020, Rising Tides partnered with the East Hills Homeowners Association (HOA) and East Hills Consensus Group to restore this community of naturally affordable homes.
The overarching goals include the restoration of blighted properties, the acquisition of properties from absentee landlords, and the facilitation of a pathway for tenant home purchases. (Public Source story, link)
Repair of Park Hill properties also affords an opportunity to improve energy efficiency and energy affordability of these homes. Interventions could include upgrading from single-pane, metal frame windows to triple-pane, augmenting insulation in both walls and attics, transitioning from room conditioners to the installation of air source heat pumps (linked to furnace backups for the coldest winter periods) or incorporating hot water heat pumps. Such changes would align with a broader commitment to sustainable and low-carbon-footprint housing solutions.
