After more than a decade of sitting condemned in Carrick, Berg Place is finally coming down. The City of Pittsburgh started demolition on the vacant seven-building, 33-unit complex on Oct. 27, clearing the site for Carrick Senior Apartments, a planned 52-unit affordable building for seniors (via City of Pittsburgh).
The buildings went up between 1925 and 1935. The city condemned and emptied them in April 2014 over health and safety violations that included rotting decks, missing smoke detectors, sewage leaks, crumbling brick and no water in many units, and neighbors have complained for years about the decay and several fires. The Urban Redevelopment Authority picked up a first lien mortgage position, the city listed the property for a Treasurer's Sale in 2016 that the former owner held off, and the URA finally took it at sheriff's sale in September 2022.
The city's Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections is coordinating the teardown with Deller Professional Services, and the city expects it to be done within a few weeks.
What replaces it is a joint project of CHN Housing Partners and Amani Christian Community Development Corporation. The plan calls for 52 affordable senior units, 47 one-bedrooms and five two-bedrooms. The URA brought in CHN in 2023, and WPXI reported that summer that the project was expected to cost more than $20 million and would serve people 55 and older on a site overlooking the Brownsville Road business district. Councilman Anthony Coghill told the station it would be "a real game-changer for Brownsville Road."
The financing stack is typical for this kind of job. The project won a 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit award in the state's 2025 round, one of six Pittsburgh developments funded that year, according to the URA. It also has $2.45 million from the URA's Rental Gap Program, project-based vouchers and a loan from the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, and money from Grow America, First National Bank, Bridgeway Capital, HUD, the state and Allegheny County. State Rep. Jess Benham pointed to about $2.3 million in state funding.
The money isn't all in place yet. Financing hasn't closed, and no construction start date has been announced. "We look forward to working with all partners to close project financing and start a new era of quality, affordable housing on this site," said Kevin Nowak, president and CEO of CHN Housing Partners.
"We are glad that we are finally taking down this property and replacing it with 52 new homes for our local seniors," Mayor Corey O'Connor said.
Why it matters for Contractors
Two jobs here, on two clocks. The demolition is happening now, through the city and an already-hired contractor. The building is the bigger opportunity, but it won't be bid until the tax credit deal closes, and the release doesn't give a date for that.
For small shops in the South Hills, a 52-unit LIHTC building means a general contractor who'll need subs for framing, drywall, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and finishes, often with prevailing wage or Section 3 hiring rules attached when HUD and housing authority money is in the deal. Watch CHN Housing Partners and the URA for the GC announcement, and make sure your certifications and payroll paperwork are ready before bids go out.