The $27 million upgrade of downtown Erie's Richford Arms is complete. Here are the details

Welcome to the new Richford Arms.

After nearly 18 months of construction, an extensive $27 million renovation of the 106-unit affordable housing complex at 515 State St. is complete.

The building’s owner, Boston-based Beacon Communities, announced the project in 2019. The company kicked off the project in late January 2022; construction was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upgrades proposed: New entrance, 2-story addition part of $25 million renovation plan at Erie's Richford Arms

“We believe that good, affordable housing is a part of having a thriving city,” Josh Cohen, Beacon’s president of development, said in a previous interview with the Erie Times-News.

Richford Arms tenants range from people in their mid-20s to those in their early 90s. They receive Section 8 rental subsidies or other assistance through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Formerly the 400-room luxury Ford Hotel, Richford Arms opened in May 1928 touted as “Erie’s first fireproof hotel." The building later became known as the Richford Hotel.

Here are some key details about the project.

What new amenities/features were added at Richford Arms?

The improvements include renovations of the building’s 100 existing apartment units; the addition of six new accessible apartment units; new elevators; upgraded heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; expansion of the building’s community and management spaces; facade upgrades; a new entrance for residents; a raised outdoor terrace with seating, planters and lighting; and a new two-story addition to the north of the building on the site of Richford Arms' existing parking lot that includes kitchen space, a television room, new laundry room, a wellness/fitness center, support offices and storage, as well as six new apartments.

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Also included were improvements to the building's ground-floor retail storefronts and new common areas for wellness programs.

How were the Richford Arms upgrades financed?

The project was funded largely via $12 million in tax credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. Such tax credit programs allow businesses to invest in housing-related projects.

In exchange, those businesses get a percentage of their financial investment back via tax credits.

Cohen said the project's PHFA financing provides roughly $1.2 million annually for 10 years, for a total of about $12 million.

The project also received a $3.5 million low-interest loan from Erie Insurance, the Fortune 500 company whose downtown campus is adjacent to the apartment complex, and $2.45 million in loans from the city of Erie.

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Erie Insurance invested in the Richford Arms project “as part of the company’s longstanding commitment to downtown Erie," company spokesman Matthew Cummings said shortly before construction began.

'Unprecedented' investment: Partnerships fuel $27 million makeover at downtown Erie's Richford Arms

The city’s financing had several components, according to Mayor Joe Schember’s administration.

One was a $1.7 million, 30-year, zero-interest loan that came from three federal sources: Home Investment Partnerships funds, money from the federal Community Development Block Grant program, and dollars allocated to the city via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

The money used to provide the loan to Beacon Communities from those three sources was allocated to the city between 2017 and 2021 but was not spent on other projects, according to Debra Smith, the city’s economic development director.

The city also provided Beacon Communities a $750,000 loan exclusively from city HOME dollars. Federal guidelines allow the city to loan the money to Beacon Communities at zero interest, Smith has said, because the funds were used to create or improve affordable housing.

Cleveland-based KeyBank and national housing finance giant Fannie Mae also provided funding for the project, according to Cohen.

Why did Beacon communities make this investment?

In previous interviews, Cohen has said the Richford Arms upgrades aim to improve living conditions and amenities for low- and moderate-income residents who badly need them.

Previous coverage: 'Mission driven': Affordable housing companies place multimillion-dollar bets on Erie

According to HUD, affordable housing is defined as any dwelling that the occupying household can obtain for less than 30% of its gross income, including utilities.

City officials have said that well-maintained affordable housing is vital in Erie, where more than 25% of the city's residents live below federal poverty guidelines, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

“We want to give people better places to live,” Schember has said regarding the project. “There is a big need for affordable housing here and we’re happy that companies are willing to make these kinds of investments in Erie.”

Cohen has called Erie Insurance’s financing commitment for the Richford Arms project “unprecedented” for Beacon Communities, because the company has not partnered in such a way with an adjacent private business when it comes to an affordable housing project.

What do residents think of the improvements?

Tonya Gray is excited about the Richford Arms upgrades.

“The improvements are amazing,” said Gray, 59, who has lived at Richford Arms for the past eight years. “The lobby and the community room are improved and there is a lot more accessibility here. We have a nicer TV room and a bigger area where we can do crafts and stuff. There shouldn’t be any complaints.”

Gray said her fourth-floor, one-bedroom apartment was also improved with new cabinets, appliances, windows and a fresh paint job.

“Everything is really nice and clean,” Gray said. “Everything they did here makes it a lot nicer than what we had.”

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: The $27M renovation of Erie's Richford Arms: what you need to know