Milagro House sells city property to Lancaster Redevelopment Fund

With the sale Tuesday of property it owns on South Prince Street in Lancaster City, Milagro House achieved its vision that the buildings would be used to benefit the community. 

Milagro House completed the sale of buildings at 132-134 South Prince St. to the Lancaster Redevelopment Fund, Inc. a non-profit supported by the Lancaster Redevelopment Authority. 

The South Prince St. property was purchased by Milagro House in 2018 with the intent of moving and expanding its non-profit operations and programming to that location. Milagro House was presented in 2022 with the opportunity to team with HDC MidAtlantic to develop a portion of the former UPMC/St. Joseph Hospital site on College Ave. The site sits across the street from Milagro House’s location on the corner of West Chestnut St. and College Ave. 

Milagro House Executive Director Christina Duncan said in a statement the opportunity to stay in the current location while addressing the need for expansion through additional square footage was ideal. 

“Our commitment to pursuing collaborative opportunities that benefit the women and children we serve – and the community as a whole – was front and center in our decision to shift our expansion plans to the former hospital site,” Duncan said. 

Along with developing a portion of the former hospital site, Milagro House’s expansion project will include renovation of its building at 669 West Chestnut St. to reflect the needs of the organization. 

The sale of the South Prince St. property allows Milagro House to support the goals of the SoWe initiative, a resident-led community organization supported by Tenfold and the SoWe Collaborative that works to implement the Southwest Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy.  

The Redevelopment Fund, Inc. purchased the buildings to address the increasing needs of housing insecurity and homelessness in Lancaster. 

“This is a tremendous opportunity that came before us while looking at various sites throughout Lancaster,” said Lancaster Redevelopment Fund’s Executive Director Justin Eby, “and we appreciate the commitment of Milagro House in preserving the buildings for future community benefit. 

“Our team looks forward to the next phases of development and input from various stakeholders within the Homelessness Coalition.”