Fifth Avenue near Downtown Pittsburgh becomes the latest spot in the city to have affordable housing

The push to provide more affordable housing continued this week in Pittsburgh, as more is now available near Downtown. 

The Standard on Fifth, in the 2100 block of Fifth Avenue, was the site of a ribbon-cutting for the new residential building, where some residents have already moved in. They're also accepting applications for new neighbors, and they hope The Standard on Fifth will live up to the name. 

"This is high-end, the standard; I guess that's why you call it that," said Pittsburgh City Councilman Dan Lavelle. "This does indeed set the standard for what an affordable housing development can and should look like." 

"Fifty-one apartments, 41 of them affordable, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes on a corner that sat vacant for years, that matters," added Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh Executive Board Member Monica Malik. 

Now, here along Fifth Avenue, which is a major transit hub going in and out of Downtown, local officials joked about how they hope the University Line will be complete soon. They also said that was a major factor in why this location was such an attractive option for affordable housing. 

"The reality is, when we start building developments, we have to have transit in mind, and I can't think of a better corridor to put more housing in that's accessible and affordable to more residents," said Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O'Connor. 

With affordability and accessibility comes more opportunity. That opportunity is exactly what local leaders are expecting in the future. 

"Neighborhood development has to be more than just about buildings," said Malik. "It has to be about the people. It has to be about whether families can afford to live here, whether residents can access opportunity, whether small businesses can grow, stay here, and thrive."