Making affordable housing beautiful, contextual and affordable is a challenge facing architects and developers. In the case of Pittsburgh-based TREK Development Group’s Iron Bridge Crossings in Brownsville, Pa., designed by UpStreet Architects Inc., Indiana, Pa., metal helped play a strategic role in advancing the project in a timely manner, in tying in with community context, and coming in on budget.
The project was financed with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) PennHOMES and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). As such, the use of architectural metal provided not only aesthetic, but financial contributions, allowing the project to better fit into budgetary requirements and be more swiftly approved.
Architectural planning began in 2014, and the building had its first open house in February 2018.
