Governor Shapiro highlights historic investments in affordable housing during Lancaster visit

Governor Josh Shapiro is set to visit the Lancaster City Housing Authority's Farnum Street East apartment building. The visit aims to highlight his administration's efforts in expanding access to affordable housing, alongside recent investments through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund.

Recently, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) announced a distribution of $73 million through PHARE. This funding supports 387 housing initiatives across the state, including $300,000 allocated for renovations at Lancaster's Farnum Street East, a public housing complex with 169 units for seniors and disabled individuals.

Governor Shapiro's 2024-25 bipartisan budget significantly increased Pennsylvania’s commitment to affordable housing by raising the PHARE cap to $100 million annually by 2027. Building on this progress, his 2025-26 budget proposal includes an additional $10 million investment in PHARE. It also proposes the largest overall housing investment in Pennsylvania history, with $50 million earmarked for a new statewide housing repair fund, $10 million for first-time homebuyers support, and targeted eviction sealing reform.

The event will feature Governor Josh Shapiro along with Robin Weissmann, Executive Director and CEO of PHFA; Barbara J. Ellis Wilson, Executive Director of Lancaster City Housing Authority; and Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El. It will take place at the Community Room of Lancaster City Housing Authority - Farnum Street East on June 18th at noon.

A live stream of the event will be available at pacast.com/live/gov and governor.pa.gov/live/. Press interested in attending should RSVP with their team members' names and phone numbers via email to ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov.