Shapiro Administration Highlights Need to Build More Housing, Reduce Costs, and Create Opportunity for Pennsylvanians During Visit to Downtown Greensburg

Governor Josh Shapiro recently unveiled the Commonwealth's first-ever Housing Action Plan - delivering commonsense solutions to everyday problems and ensuring every Pennsylvanian has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.

Governor Shapiro's proposed 2026-27 budget calls for a $1 billion investment in housing and critical infrastructure to accelerate the construction of new homes across Pennsylvania and provide critical rehabilitation funding to preserve existing homes.

Greensburg, PA - Today, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Deputy Secretary for Community Affairs and Development Rick Vilello highlighted the urgent need to expand housing opportunities and increase affordability for all Pennsylvanians against the backdrop of a proposed conversion of the First Commonwealth Bank building in Greensburg, Westmoreland County.

Under current projections, Pennsylvania will face a shortage of roughly 185,000 homes by 2035 without further action. Housing costs continue to rise at a rate faster than wages, with over one million households in Pennsylvania spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, and more than 50 percent of the Commonwealth's housing stock is over 50 years old - making it increasingly more expensive to maintain.

To address these issues, Governor Josh Shapiro created Pennsylvania's first-ever Housing Action Plan, which will build and preserve more homes, modernize housing regulations and zoning rules, and break down barriers preventing people from finding stable housing - all to grow the Commonwealth's economy and improve Pennsylvanians' quality of life.

"Governor Shapiro created Pennsylvania's Housing Action Plan to bring state and local leaders, builders, advocates, and communities together around a shared vision to build and preserve more homes, stabilize housing outcomes, and expand housing opportunity for every Pennsylvanian," said DCED Deputy Secretary Rick Vilello. "The proposed housing project we toured today is a great example of local governments, stakeholders, and partners working together to identify ways to improve quality of life and give more people access to opportunity."

Deputy Secretary Vilello was joined by local and state leaders and other partners to tour the former Commonwealth Bank Building at 111 South Main Street in Greensburg. The site has been identified as a cornerstone redevelopment project that could be used as housing for students, seniors, and professionals.

"I welcome the Deputy Secretary to Greensburg; repurposing this key property with multigenerational housing, enhanced parking, and new businesses is a win for everyone," said State Representative Eric Nelson. "I'm interested in the details of the Governor's proposal, his dispersion formula, and how projects like ours would benefit if implemented."

"By increasing housing opportunities, we're not only meeting demand - we're driving foot traffic, supporting small businesses, and bringing new energy to Greensburg's core," said Greensburg Mayor Robert L. Bell. "We are doing our part by updating our zoning ordinance to make it easier to build more multi-use and residential units downtown, we've eliminated the parking requirement for residential development, and we just received a multi-modal grant from DCED to help improve bikeability and walkability throughout Greensburg, too. These are important initiatives to show how serious we are to help transform downtown Greensburg into not just a thriving commercial area, but also an attractive neighborhood to live in as well."

"Pennsylvania's Housing Action Plan emulates both the innovation and roadmap needed to begin to solve the high-quality housing shortage across the nation," said Jim Ambrose, President, Tipping Point. "This project is the perfect prototype to create community driven, high impact places that spark transformative change across many Main Street communities like Greensburg across Pennsylvania and Appalachia based communities."

"We know that downtown housing is not just about putting people in buildings, but it is one of the most powerful economic development tools a community can deploy," said Nancy Ligus, Executive Director, Greensburg Community Development Corporation. "This Housing Action Plan empowers cities like Greensburg to respond and plan for the future."

The Governor's Housing Action Plan was spearheaded by an executive committee of cabinet officials and senior leaders from DCED, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, the Governor's Office of Policy and Planning, Legislative Affairs, and Budget Office; and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

For over a year, the Shapiro Administration engaged thousands of residents, local leaders, developers, and housing advocates from every corner of the Commonwealth:

• Hosting 18 Regional Roundtables with Pennsylvanians in each of the Commonwealth's five regions.
• Attending Statewide Housing Conferences to receive feedback from housing developers, property managers, and other professional attendees.
• Conducting Statewide Surveys which collected nearly 2,500 survey responses from each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.

The Governor's Housing Action Plan Lays Out Five Core Goals:

• Build and Preserve Pennsylvania's Housing Stock. Pennsylvania needs more homes for today and tomorrow, but we must also protect the ones that have long anchored our neighborhoods. By building new houses at a pace that keeps up with our economy and safeguarding the homes we already have, we can ensure that safe, stable, and affordable housing is available to residents for generations to come.
• Expand Housing Opportunity for All Pennsylvanians. A dignified, secure home should never be out of reach. By breaking down barriers, expanding homeownership opportunities, and strengthening tenant protections, we can build a Commonwealth where every resident has the security of a safe, stable, and attainable home.
• Provide Pathways to Housing Stabilization and Sustainability. A strong system supports those residents who are most vulnerable. By connecting Pennsylvanians to resources that prevent displacement and by supporting households during times of crisis, we can reduce housing insecurity - giving our residents the stability they need to grow and our communities the resiliency they need to thrive.
• Modernize Pennsylvania's Housing Development Regulation. Outdated rules and unnecessary delays drive up costs and slow down progress. By modernizing regulations, cutting red tape, and streamlining development, we can make it easier and more affordable to build homes across the Commonwealth - encouraging investment and helping to ensure that housing is developed where it is needed most.
• Improve coordination and accountability. Pennsylvania's housing systems work best when they work together. By aligning local and state efforts, sharing data, and coordinating across agencies, we can deliver results efficiently and stay accountable to the residents we serve.

Governor Shapiro's 2026-27 Proposed Budget takes the first steps to implement this plan, calling for investments and reforms to expand housing access, protect renters and homeowners, and strengthen coordination across state agencies to further strengthen his Housing Action Plan.

The Governor's budget proposal includes:

• Critical Infrastructure Investment Fund to Build More Homes: One of the best ways to lower the cost of housing is to build more homes. The Governor's budget proposal creates a new $1 billion initiative supported through the issuance of general obligation bonds, with proceeds deposited into the Capital Facilities Fund. This initiative would provide flexible funding for major infrastructure projects across the Commonwealth, including building and preserving more housing, bringing new energy generation onto the grid, and upgrading school and municipal facilities.
• Protecting Renters and Promoting Housing Stability: Establishes a statewide cap on rental application fees tied to the actual cost of screening and prohibits fees before a property is viewed; affirms a tenant's right to terminate a lease due to domestic violence without financial penalty; seals eviction records for individuals who were not actually evicted; and advances fair-chance housing reforms to regulate when and how criminal history may be considered in rental decisions; and invests $1 million in an Investments in Health pilot, leveraging federal funding to total $2.5 million to connect Pennsylvanians experiencing homelessness or housing instability with housing-related supports.
• Supporting Manufactured Homeowners: Limits annual lot rent increases in manufactured home communities and requires advance notice of increases, protecting residents - many of whom own their homes but rent the land beneath them - from sudden and unaffordable cost spikes.
• Addressing Tangled Titles and Preserving Generational Wealth: Authorizes transfer-on-death deeds for primary residences, providing a streamlined way for homeowners to pass property to heirs, avoid costly probate, access home repair programs, and reduce blight in communities across the Commonwealth.
• Strengthening Housing Coordination and Accountability: Creates a Deputy Secretary for Housing at DCED to coordinate housing policy and oversee implementation of the Housing Action Plan.
• Modernizing Local Planning and Permitting: Updates the Municipalities Planning Code to reduce regulatory barriers to residential development, improve permitting processes, and incentivize county and regional planning that reflects the diverse housing needs of Pennsylvania's communities.

Building on Three Years of Progress

Since taking office, the Shapiro Administration has laid a strong foundation helping address the Commonwealth's housing needs while protecting renters and homeowners:

• In 2024, Governor Shapiro secured a $10 million annual increase until 2027 for the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Enhancement (PHARE) Fund, raising the cap to $100 million by 2027 - PHARE has funded over 1,000 projects to build or repair more than 8,200 housing units since 2023.
• In his FY 2024-25 budget, Governor Shapiro launched Pennsylvania's first statewide Right-to-Counsel initiative, investing $2.5 million to provide legal counsel for people facing evictions. He secured the same funding in FY 2025-26.
• Under Governor Shapiro's leadership, DCED has awarded over $120.3 million through the Whole-Home Repairs program to the 64 counties who joined the program, helping low and moderate income homeowners and landlords repair, adapt, and weatherize their homes.
• In his FY 2024-25 budget, Governor Shapiro secured a $5 million increase for the Homeless Assistance Program (HAP) to strengthen county-level homelessness prevention, emergency shelter, and rapid rehousing efforts across Pennsylvania.
• The Shapiro Administration also invested $2.5 million in Emergency Housing Support for local governments, providing municipalities with flexible resources to respond quickly to urgent housing needs and help stabilize families at risk of displacement.

Governor Shapiro remains committed to ensuring every Pennsylvanian has the dignity and security that comes with a safe, affordable place to call home.

For more information about the Housing Action Plan or the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit the DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency news on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

• MEDIA CONTACT:
• Governor's Office, [email protected], 717.783.1116
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