In March 2025, Main + Elm Development Company—an ELDI partner and real estate development nonprofit—put the finishing touches on two new homes in East Liberty: 5634 and 5636 Rural Street. Owned by ELDI, these once vacant and blighted properties now offer affordable pathways to homeownership for local families.
But these homes represent more than fresh paint and solid construction. They’re part of our broader effort to expand affordable and attainable homeownership in Pittsburgh—two terms often used interchangeably, but with important distinctions.
- Affordable homeownership refers to housing priced so that households earning below a certain percentage of the Area Median Income (AMI) spend no more than 30% of their income on housing costs. This usually means families who earn 80% AMI or less.
- Attainable homeownership broadens the scope, ensuring homes are within reach for working families of different income levels, including both the affordable and “missing middle” households, which cover families earning up to 120% AMI.
With rising home prices and limited inventory, preserving a mix of affordable and attainable homeownership opportunities, alongside market-rate options, is a priority in East Liberty and beyond.
According to the two published City of Pittsburgh Housing Needs Assessments, there is a homeownership supply gap of 5,000 units at 100% AMI or below across the city. This gap is due to homeowners being overburdened with housing expenses as well as anticipated population growth over the next 20 years.
“The need for affordable homes often gets most of the spotlight, but creating ‘attainable’ homeownership opportunities is equally important as these market segments are getting priced out of newly renovated and new construction homes as wages have stagnated and construction costs continue to escalate,” shared Main + Elm Executive Director Jonathan Huck. “They are being burdened with lesser quality, deferred maintenance homes that are aging quickly, which is why Main + Elm is working to offer more opportunities in this income range.”
That’s why projects like the Rural Street homes matter and why understanding how they came together is key to creating more vibrant, mixed-income communities across Pittsburgh.
From liabilities to assets
5634 and 5636 Rural Street are the first homes fully project-managed by Main + Elm, from design to financing to construction.
- 5634 Rural Street is a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home which sold for $200,000 to an 80% AMI buyer, with $50,000 in special financing offered for that buyer. This house, long vacant and blighted, was acquired through conservatorship after repeated break-ins and evidence of unsafe conditions.
- 5636 Rural Street is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home which sold for $180,000 to a 50% AMI buyer.
Both homes include separate off-street parking spots in a shared lot.
The two properties highlight the complexities of turning abandoned houses into quality, move-in-ready homes. Acquisition hurdles, including the legal process of conservatorship (navigated with support from Cobb Counsel), and unexpected construction needs, such as reframing the roofs to reduce long-term maintenance costs, required creative problem-solving and strong partnerships.
The fundraising process for these homes also illustrates the patience and commitment needed to bring affordable and attainable homeownership projects to life. Main + Elm began fundraising back in 2022, receiving funds from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s PHARE program in 2023, and later from the Neighborhood Community Development Fund (NCDF) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) in 2024.
“We are very grateful to PHFA, NCDF, and the URA for providing the necessary funds, and also to our general contractor, Shape Development Group, for finishing the project in record time and within budget without lowering the standards,” said Shivam Mathur, senior project manager at Main + Elm.
Main + Elm pulled together funding for these homes from three key partners:
- NCDF invested $342,000.
- The URA contributed $170,000 in total funding toward the rehabilitations.
- The PHARE program provided $110,477 in support.
“The Neighborhood Community Development Fund is proud to support this affordable homeownership project, because we believe every family deserves the opportunity to put down roots and build wealth in their own community,” said Mark P. Masterson, NCDF Executive Director.
“The URA is happy to support community-based affordable housing development projects from vital community partners such as ELDI and Main + Elm that are dedicated to fostering affordable homeownership opportunities within their communities,” added Quianna Wasler, Chief Housing Officer at the URA. “We firmly believe that homeownership serves as a cornerstone for robust neighborhoods, enabling individuals to thrive, enrich their families, and contribute to the broader community. As housing prices continue to escalate, it is essential to maintain the affordability of homes for those at risk of displacement, and the URA is committed to contributing to the goal of making Pittsburgh more affordable for all.”
The Main + Elm difference
Founded in 2024 to help communities across Pittsburgh do the challenging work of building their community visions, Main + Elm brings the project development expertise to oversee every step of the development process.
“Main + Elm has both the capacity, passion, and experience to tackle challenging projects like 5634 and 5636 Rural Street,” said Ted Melnyk, ELDI’s Director of Operations. “The challenge usually starts with a blighted, vacant house, continues through construction, financing, permits, and paperwork, and on to the final challenge of finding the right family to match the home. But Main + Elm staff understand and can handle most of these hurdles in-house, and when they can’t, they have a wide range of partners to assist with everything from grant writing to homeownership training.”
Looking ahead
The Rural Street homes are just the beginning for Main + Elm. The organization has already wrapped up renovations on two other homes—446 Enright Court and 121 Shetland Street—and plans to finish and sell another 11 additional homeownership units by the Summer of 2026. Those 13 total homes include six for ELDI and seven for Rising Tide Partners, with 12 priced at 80% AMI or below.
While more organizations like Main + Elm are needed to tackle the scale of the problem, these efforts are helping close the gap between the need for affordable, attainable housing and the limited supply available in Pittsburgh.
“Main + Elm would like to thank the team at ELDI for having the faith and confidence in us as their project management partner to turn from liabilities into assets these two affordable homes in a neighborhood with a wealth of advancement opportunities. We look forward to many more to come,” said Jonathan Huck, Executive Director of Main + Elm.