The Choice Neighborhoods (CHOICE) program is an initiative of the US Housing and Urban Development (HUD). CHOICE initiatives leverage public and private dollars to support locally-driven strategies in a comprehensive neighborhood transformation plan while redeveloping a selected housing community.
The Bedford Dwellings Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan is in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This Plan envisions a future, rooted in its rich African American heritage, that is a connected, healthy and safe community where empowered residents are afforded new, intergenerational, family-friendly housing options and enjoy the flourishing business district and community amenities. The Plan honors the strength of connection; whether in the context of connecting the current areas of strong residential development to one another; connecting Bedford Dwellings to the Centre Avenue business district and other amenities; connecting the Hill District to the greater City and Region; or in connecting residents to their neighbors, services, job or education opportunities.
The People Plan prioritizes the residents of the public housing community and responds to their needs through investments in related social services and programs while supporting each family through relocation with case management services.
The Bedford Connect People Plan aims to improve outcomes of households living in Bedford Dwellings related to employment, health, and education. The People Plan is developed using data from an intensive resident survey and leverages the existing social services with innovative services designed to meet the specific needs to the Bedford Dwellings community with the goal that every household experiences an enhanced quality of life wherever they choose to live.
The Neighborhood Plan creates the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment into distressed neighborhoods so that the neighborhood offers the kinds of amenities and assets, including safety, good schools, and commercial activity, that are important to families’ choices about their community.
The Neighborhood strategy is the glue that holds the Housing and the People Plans together and allows the community to implement the priorities identified in the Greater Hill District Master Plan. The Neighborhood Plan seeks to improve mobility, increase the presence of active public spaces, restore and enliven the built environment, and enhance access to historic and cultural resources.
The Housing Plan focuses on rebuilding targeted distressed public and federally assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well managed and responsive to the needs of the neighborhood.
Through the redevelopment of 411 units of public housing at Bedford Dwellings, the Bedford Connect Transformation Plan aims to foster neighborhood interaction and community pride through the integration of new and renovated safe, efficient, and durable housing choices into the Middle Hill District neighborhood, reducing the high vacancy within the neighborhood, with the goal of attracting additional private investment in the future.
.jpg){kind=logo}
