Down payment assistance grants available to first time homebuyers.

The Bayfront East Side Taskforce (BEST) is offering $15,000 down payment assistance grants and building lots to two qualified buyers willing to build new homes in Erie’s Historic East Bayfront neighborhood - located between Holland and Wayne Streets, East Sixth to Front Streets.

Each home, built by Port Harbor Homes, is sold prior to construction. Buyers choose floor plans, cabinets, floor and woodwork. All have at least three bedrooms, 1 ½ baths, full basement, dishwasher, garbage disposal and a one-car detached garage. All concrete work, sidewalks and driveway, and landscaping are included in the $100,000 - $125,000 sales price.

The City of Erie’s ten-year property tax waiver on all new construction and special discounts on closing costs through participating banks make these homes truly affordable. Buyers pay taxes on the improved lot only, saving an estimated $3,000 a year or $30,000 over the ten year period.

To qualify, buyers must be first time homeowners, earn low to moderate income, up to $41,100 for a family of four, obtain a construction loan, and contribute $1,000 - $1,500 towards the home purchase. Buyers must also complete homeownership counseling classes through St. Martin Center and agree to maintain the home as their primary residence during the ten-year affordability period.

Five new homes have been built over the past year through BEST’s down payment assistance program – three on the 200 block of German Street, one on the 300 block of East Third Street and one at 4th and Ash. Construction of a sixth home on the 500 block of East Second Street will start soon. The down payment funds are provided by a Home Investment Partnership Grant awarded to BEST by the City of Erie. For more information call Sue Moyer, Executive Director of BEST at 456-7062.

BEST’s home-building project is part of a much larger plan to revitalize the East Bayfront, which started with a neighborhood planning process in 1998. The plan includes increasing the percentage of homeowners, improvements along Parade Street, housing rehabilitation and beautification projects. The revitalization of the East Bayfront neighborhood anchors further development of Parade Street’s commercial corridor from East Sixth Street south to East 28th Street.

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