Rental Housing Program

Since 1968

“Helping the people of Carlisle to live in safe, healthy and attractive neighborhoods.”

When Carlisle adopted a housing code and embarked on a program to assure that all dwellings in the borough were safe, a group of Carlisle residents organized Carlisle Opportunity Homes (COH) to help those who are unable to make the necessary repairs, or to rent a safe and healthy house, or to buy a place to live.

Since 1968, COH has rehabilitated 40 older houses in Carlisle and offered them as rental homes for low-income families. In addition, 10 older houses have been purchased, repaired, and sold to first-time homeowners at a fair market price. COH pays the rehabilitation costs and often does not re-coup this expense.

COH has built nine new homes and sold them at cost to first-time owners who met low- income requirements.

COH has also been a partner with the Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities (www.cchra.com,) in building 180 units for rent to low-income families.

The houses which COH has rehabilitated for resale or rental have been in a variety of neighborhoods in Carlisle, 30 of them in or bordering the Historic District. These houses often needed extensive repairs in order to be habitable. A major recent concern is protecting the health of families and particularly children from the threat of lead poisoning from old paint.

COH currently is cooperating with other organizations in the rehabilitation and renewal of the North Pitt Street and West North Street area (Pitt Street Pride/North Street Pride).

The impact of housing renewal

• Safer dwellings for families.
• Healthier homes for children.
• Education in repairing and maintaining one’s own home.
• Pride in one’s own dwelling and in one’s neighborhood.
• Providing a model of what can be done to make a neighborhood sate and attractive.
• Beautifying and renewing neighborhoods close to the downtown area.
• Providing counseling in being a responsible renter or homeowner.
• Encouraging responsible citizenship in the neighborhood and community.

Where does the money come from?

In the beginning, most of the money came from individual contributors and church organizations. Through bank mortgages, COH has been able to purchase houses to rehabilitate and rent or sell. All funds which COH receives are used for purchase of properties and their rehabilitation. In fact, the rehabilitation and continuing maintenance
of rental properties cost more than any income gained through rents or sales. These additional and necessary expenses have been supported by governmental funding contributions from individuals and groups.

Where does the money go?

• Interest on the mortgages used to purchase houses.
• Taxes on all the properties used as rental properties. No properties are taken off the tax roles.
• Maintenance of rented or leased properties.
• Occasional subsidies to first-time homebuycrs.
• Administration of rental program.

Where will contributions go?

To repair and maintain the houses which COH offers for rent or purchase. A 1996 survey of all its units determined the work necessary on each unit in the next five years so that maintenance could be planned ahead and not performed only in a time of crisis. Replacement of old heating units, repairing bathrooms and kitchens, and repairing floors are some of the major types of work which must be done to assure that the houses are safe and healthy for the families.

The need is urgent but not excessive - $30,000 a year would make it possible to:

• Make houses lead free by repainting walls and woodwork and by replacing old lead painted windows.
• Install new heating units where necessary.
• Rehabilitate bathrooms and kitchens.
• Repair floors and walls.
• Assure that the roofs and outside walls protect the residents from the weather.

$30,000 is equivalent to $1.50 per Carlisle resident. Of course, many Carlisle residents (children, for example) cannot afford that amount. We ask that others be as generous as possible and keep COH and their Carlisle neighborhoods in mind yearly as they plan charitable giving.

Current Officers, Board Members and Support Persons

President: Jimmie George
Vice President: Bruce Andrews
Secretary: Mary Sandels
Treasurer: Gerald Rhoads

Members:
Daniel Bechtel, Jane Allen, Jim Washington, Jr., Deborah Webb, Gerald Robertson, Mark Bishop, Doris Campbell, Fred Hait, Carl Bell, Jr., Judy Cobb, Joan Harrison, Charles D. Hoffman, Madeline Lyons, Mark Bitting, Deborah Robertson, Dr. Harold  Kretzing

Support Persons:
Attorney: George Douglas, III
Manager: Sonya Brown
Carlisle Housing Opportunity: Jay Browne, Holly Rider, Dolly Rice-Kern
Re-development Authority: Chris Gulotta, Amy Miller, Tom Fields

An Honor Roll of Past Member of the Board and Other Contributors:

Margery Andrews, Thomas Boegel, Janet Bell, William Burkholder, Joanne Capone, Dale Harbison, Evelyn Hodge, Craig Houston, Delores Jones, Brenda Johnson, Boyd Landis, Howard Long, Richard Marshall, David Pegues, James Prescott, Paul Stone, Blanche Williams, 1^st Presbyterian Church, 2^nd Presbyterian Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, First United Church of Christ, Allison United Methodist Church, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Harris Savings, Haines-Stackfield American Legion Post 826.

COH is a not-for-profit organization. Donations are Tax Deductible and should be sent to:

Carlisle Opportunity Homes, Inc.,
60 West Penn Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Telephone: 717-245-0516