With the ribbon cutting ceremony on September 7, Pinckney Hill Commons at the Charles Melton Arts & Education Center is officially open. The 51 new affordable homes in downtown West Chester are almost all already assigned and the new tenants have been moving in since the summer. The 10 townhomes and 41 apartments are expected to be fully rented by the end of September or early October. RHLS Executive Director Dina Schlossberg, and Kim Dolan, Supervising Attorney, attended the ceremony.
The affordable housing complex is owned by a apartnership in which Church Housing Corporation (CHC) is the general partner. It includes mixed-income workforce housing rentals for families that have members with mobility, hearing, and visual impairments. The apartment building will include shared amenities such as a community room, library, laundry, management offices, and on-site supportive services. The community will be near public transportation and is located next to the Melton Center, a long standing and significant community center. All residents will also have access to the activities held the Melton Center.
Then Deputy Director and Senior Attorney of Multi-Family Housing, Dina Schlossberg, as well as RHLS Attorney Brandon McFarlane and Consulting Attorney Ryanne Shuey, worked on this project. This was RHLS’s first project representing Church Housing Corporation.
The Melton Center provides the greater West Chester area with a wide variety of low-cost or free programs ranging from the educational to summer basketball league and summer STEAM camp. The Center is widely used by the community as a rental space for family gatherings, sporting and community events; after-school program for elementary and middle-school aged youth; and voting poll center. The Melton Center is also dedicated to hosting community events, recovery meetings, a culinary school for underserved youth and many events and activities.