48 units of affordable senior housing proposed at former William Penn Elementary School site

Another senior housing development is winding through the approval process in Penn Hills.

Lancaster-based Social Enterprise Properties got preliminary approval Aug. 22 to raze the old William Penn Elementary School near Verona Road and build a three-story, 48-unit complex in its place.

All units would be reserved for tenants 62 and older making 60% or less of the area median income, according to Andrew Haines, executive vice president of Gatesburg Road Development.

“It’s important to us that we make this an affordable place to live, but it also is suitable for the neighborhood,” Haines said. “We want to be good neighbors.”

After securing loans and tax credits, Gatesburg Road plans to buy the property — which remains in the hands of a California-based LLC — off Social Enterprise. Haines’ firm is headquartered in State College and has similar communities throughout Pennsylvania, including Serenity Ridge in Plum, Ridge Avenue Senior Apartments in New Kensington and Riverview Senior Living in Harrison.

As explained by Haines, income would be used to match people to appropriately priced and sized apartments based on three tiers: 20%, 50% and 60% of the area median income.

For example, someone making 30% of the area median income would be offered a unit in the 20% range, rather than 50%. Section 8 vouchers would be considered.

No children, grandchildren or unrelated roommates would be permitted to live there.

The design shows 31 parking spaces, plus common areas and laundry machines on each floor. Haines said an employee will be on-site 40 hours a week, and a maintenance worker will be on call 24/7.

Multiple people who live on nearby Dewayne Drive, including Jeff Burton, voiced concerns about an emergency route between their street and the school that doubled as a shortcut for students.

“The biggest issue we have with this is we don’t want any access from their property to Dewayne Drive,” Burton said. “If you put a road through there, you’ll never to be able to control the traffic.”

Earlier in the meeting, Brian Almeter, a civil engineer with Fahringer, McCarty, Grey Inc., said the path would not be available for daily use by pedestrians or vehicles.

“From a planning perspective, we want to keep that a gated option for emergencies but not to allow the residents to use that,” Almeter said.

Jennifer Martin, another resident of Dewayne Drive, said she chose the neighborhood for the peace and quiet. As someone with sensory sensitivities, she described the prospect of construction in dire terms.

“It sounds like a living hell for me,” Martin said. “I can’t afford to move.”

Haines said construction would never extend past 5 p.m., and, except for a few months at the start of the project, should stay relatively quiet. If approvals go smoothly, he expects to break ground in late 2026 or early 2027.

Council tentatively is scheduled to vote on the conditional use Sept. 16.

The opening phase of another senior housing project, dubbed Penn Hills Dwellings, received site plan approval at the hearing. Developer Shawn Taylor now is cleared to go ahead with transforming the rectory and nunnery at the former St. Bartholomew campus into 24 affordable units.

Phyllis Paciulli, director of the Penn Hills Senior Service Center, said she welcomes the flurry of senior housing proposals.

A good chunk of residents could benefit. About 37% of Penn Hills residents are 55 or older, compared to 34% in Allegheny County and 33% statewide.

“I know when they did Emerald Hills, people put their name on the list before it even broke ground,” Paciulli said. “Same as when they put Lavender Heights over there — people went nuts.”