A ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday celebrated the completion of The Lemington, an affordable senior living center with on-site medical, dental and behavioral health services.
Beacon Communities — a privately-owned real estate firm that develops, acquires and manages multi-family housing — launched the new facility at the former site of the Lemington Elder Care Services in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood.
The facility includes 54 units for seniors ages 62 or older. All of the units are designated as affordable housing. Six of them are earmarked for individuals making below 20% of the area median income (AMI), four are for those making below 30% of the AMI, and the rest are affordable to individuals making under 50% of the AMI. The median income in Pittsburgh is $59,400, making 50% of the AMI $29,700.
The East Liberty Family Health Care Center will have offices on the first floor of the building, where they will provide on-site medical, dental and behavioral health services.
“We started 40 years ago in the basement of Eastminster Church, and now we’re at the top of the hill in a beautiful space,” said Dr. David Hall, one of the founders of the East Liberty Family Health Care Center. “Serving the neighborhood and doing quality health care is at the heart of our mission.”
The project marks an approximately $18 million investment in the Lincoln-Lemington community, said Michael Polite, executive vice president at Beacon Communities. It revitalized a building that had sat vacant for about 15 years, he said, and previously housed the Lemington Home for the Aged beginning in 1982.
Now, the site will again house the community’s seniors, while also providing community space on the ground floor. The facility has two elevators and 48 units that are designed for special mobility needs, Polite said.
“We’re able to provide a place for our people where you can move in, live within your means and, as your needs change, the property can accommodate them,” he said. “It’s an incredible resource.”
The road the facility sits on is a new street named for Mary Peck Bond, who worked to care for elderly Black women in the area. In 1877, she noticed a woman living in a basement and, along with some friends, took her into her home to care for her, Polite explained. Eventually, the friends bought a house in the Hill District where they could care for people before establishing the organization that became the Lemington Residential Corporation in July 1984.
“What a legacy we have here,” he said.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald also noted that Lemington Eldercare Services, which previously sat on the site, was the first home in the country to specifically address the needs of elderly Black women.
The project received financial support from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and the Housing Authority provided affordable housing vouchers.
Having a site where elderly neighbors can affordably stay in the communities they love without the burden of caring for a home is a major benefit for the neighborhood, state Sen. Lindsey Williams said. She also applauded the concept of combining affordable senior housing with an on-site medical center.
“I don’t know where else you get that in the city,” she said.
Mayor Ed Gainey called it a “happy home” for Lincoln-Lemington’s senior citizens.
“You create a community that’s better because of a partnership between Beacon and East Liberty Family Health,” Gainey said. “That’s powerful. That’s going to help our seniors.”
The idea of an affordable facility that offers much-needed resources for aging residents is “vastly important in making the city a more humane and livable place to be,” said Greg Flisram, executive director of the URA.
Julia Felton is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Julia at 724-226-7724, jfelton@triblive.com or via Twitter .
