Blog Archives

House Hunters State College Borough

3/19/2019

Our Real Estate and Rehab Committee has been busy looking at homes to add to the trust. We hope to add one more house to the trust sometime this spring, so that we can prepare it for a new homeowner by the year's end. If you have a home that you are looking to sell, give us a call! We are an easy buyer; no staging and no showing required, and we can also often buy a home that needs some work. Check out our "Sell Us Your Home" page for details, or give us a call!

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Supporter Spotlight: Edward Buss

3/19/2019

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Did you catch this spotlight about amazing community volunteer and supporter, Ed Buss? Check it out below! You can read the entire newsletter in our archive. Not a subscriber? You can sign up to receive our newsletter on our homepage! Boundless gratitude for Mr. Buss, and ALL of our amazing community advocates. We salute you!

One of SCCLT's most stalwart supporters, Dr. Edward G. Buss, a retired poultry geneticist, spent some time on a recent chilly morning with our Executive Director Colleen Ritter. Ed, who is originally from Kansas, and his wife Dorothy came to State College in the mid 1950s when Ed was hired at the university. They bought their home on Garner Street in 1956 and remained there, raising two children, until they moved into Foxdale Village four years ago. While working as a Penn State professor until 1986, he worked "7 days a week,” but became more involved in the community when he retired at age 65. In addition to SCCLT, Ed and Dorothy lent their support to The International Hospitality Council, Schlow Library, WPSU and the Centre County Democratic Party. Dorothy passed away 2 years ago, but Ed remains an active community member to this day.

Of his reasons for supporting the SCCLT, Mr. Buss states, "it is a way of assisting those who want to live in State College but have limited financial resources. It is a way of promoting the welcoming atmosphere of the community." Mr. Buss also intones that SCCLT is great for families, as their children can walk to the neighborhood schools and downtown activities.

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Mount Nittany Health's 2019 Community Health Needs Assesment is on its way!

3/15/2019

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We were excited to get a preview of Mount Nittany Health 's newest Community Health Needs Assesment today, and look forward to its release later this year!

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The Community Reinvestment Act Supports Good Work in the Centre Region

3/13/2019

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Check out this article from our March Welcome Home newsletter about the Community Reinvestment Act. Shout out to our terrific community bank partners who contributed to this piece! You can read the entire newsletter in our archive. Not a subscriber? You can sign up to receive our newsletter on our homepage!

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is a vital funding source for our program, our homeowners, and for affordable housing nationwide. But, what is it? More importantly, if you already own your home, why should you care about current proposed changes to this program? Passed in 1977 the CRA sought to encourage banks to meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. As a result of the CRA, federal regulators evaluate the record of each financial institution that receives Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance, and take this information into consideration when approving applications for new bank branches or for mergers or acquisitions.
CRA activities include providing lending products to low- and moderate-income households and supporting organizations and initiatives that serve that population, with a strong emphasis on providing affordable housing. Funding that SCCLT receives from area banks allows us to acquire and rehab homes that are then sold to low- and moderate-income individuals and families.
The CRA has undergone many changes since its inception 42 years ago, and this current era is no different. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced in August, 2018 that it was looking to “modernize” the CRA. No one knows yet what changes regulators will make to the CRA this time around. Regulators are currently reviewing public comments submitted at the end of last year, and a proposed ruling could be announced by the end of this year. In recognition of the CRA, we wanted to highlight some of the terrific work accomplished through the CRA right here in the Centre Region, and to hear directly from local banks about ways they invest in our community:

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March's Welcome Home Newsletter Out Now!

3/11/2019

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Out now!

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CDBG Committee Members Tour SCCLT

3/1/2019

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Some folks from the CDBG Citizen's Advisory Committee visited SCCLT this morning to see allocated funds at work. After a brief tour of the SCCLT office, the group then moved on to tour the land trust's two most recent acquisitions, 1160 S. Atherton St., and 129 Sunrise Terrace. Both homes are undergoing some rehab before they will be ready for sale sometime later this Spring, or Summer. Both homes are part of the Energy+ Initiative, and will be given energy audits, and some improvements will be made to enhance their energy performance. Members of the CDBG Citizen's Advisory Committee have been visiting organizations that receive CDBG fund in recent weeks to gain first-hand knowledge of the impacts these funds have in our community. Information about CDBG and the Advisory Committee can be found on the Borough's website: https://statecollegepa.us/1168/CDBG-Citizens-Advisory-Committee