History of The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington

The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington is a statutory agency of the Commonwealth whose field of operation is Washington County, Pennsylvania. The Redevelopment Authority was created in 1956 to assist in the governmental functions of redeveloping blighted areas and, in conjunction with other State and Federal entities, to provide for economic growth in the County. The Redevelopment Authority operates under the Pennsylvania Housing and Assistance Law of 1949 as well as the Urban Redevelopment Law of 1956.

In 1974, the U.S. Congress passed the Housing and Community Development Act, which combined the Urban Renewal Program with other certain programs into the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. Under the CDBG Program, the County of Washington is the legal applicant and the Redevelopment Authority acts as the County’s agent in administering the Program. In addition, the Redevelopment Authority also administers the Home Investment Partnerships Program and the American Dream Downpayment Initiative Program, whose purpose is to provide affordable housing opportunities for persons of low and moderate income.

Because of an unmet need for elderly housing facilities, the Redevelopment Authority, acting through a non-profit housing corporation, has developed and continues to operate nine elderly housing facilities. These nine facilities include Canon House and Canon Apartments located in Canonsburg Borough, Char House and Crest Avenue located in Charleroi Borough, Liberty Tower located in California Borough, Century Plaza located in North Franklin Township, Burgettstown Apartments for the Elderly in Burgettstown Borough, and Claysville Apartments for the Elderly and Claysville Patio Homes in Claysville Borough.

The Redevelopment Authority is also active in economic development activities and projects. The Redevelopment Authority developed the Southpointe multi-use park and California Technology Park. The Redevelopment Authority also offers a number of loan programs designed to promote and encourage investment and job growth in the private business sectors of Washington County. The business loan programs provided by the Redevelopment Authority include a Revolving Loan Fund, Incentive Loan Fund, and Mid Mon Valley Enterprise Zone Revolving Loan Fund.