Tri-County Housing earns designation for more affordable projects

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The nonprofit Tri-County Housing has earned a key designation as a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) from the Cumberland County Commissioners.

The designation allows for additional affordable housing at LeTort Lofts in Carlisle. Executive Director Gary Lenker said the certification confirms that Tri-County is in good standing and eligible to receive HOME funds through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

“LeTort Lofts brings a much-needed transformation to a once-vibrant site that promises to enhance the local economy and preserve the historic charm that Carlisle has always been known and loved for,” Lenker said in a statement. “Earning a CHDO designation helps move this project one step closer to reality and residential living.”

The process required the nonprofit to address a checklist of more than 20 items that include the state of their financials, according to a release. Tri-County also earned this designation from the Cumberland County Commissioners for its Normandy Lofts complex in Shippensburg, completed in June of 2025.

Per the release, LeTort Lofts will revitalize the former Tyco plant site at Clay and Hamilton Streets in Carlisle in a partnership with Columbus, Ohio-based builder/developer Woda Cooper. It will include 48 affordable units priced at or below the 60% area median income level. The income limit ensures that residents spend no more than 30 percent of their income on rent and housing.

In addition to the CHDO designation, Cumberland County Commissioners approved a request for the Housing and Redevelopment Authorities to apply for $239,926 in HOME funds on behalf of Tri-County Housing. HOME, a federally funded HUD program, provides grants and loans to expand and preserve the supply of affordable housing for lower-income Pennsylvanians.

Tri-County Housing will create eight affordable for-sale townhomes, providing low- to moderate-income families with an opportunity for homeownership, promoting stability and community investment.  The total project budget for the eight townhomes is $2,787,221. Based on the buyer’s income, these townhomes will be available for purchase for between $139,900 and $159,900.

Lenker said the LeTort Lofts community is a long-awaited answer to the question of what will become of a nucleus of closed industrial facilities. Between 2008 and 2012, Carlisle Borough faced the closure of three of its largest industrial facilities, in the borough’s northwest neighborhood. These shutdowns eliminated hundreds of jobs and left behind a number of brownfields in a concentrated urban area. The closures included the 48-acre International Automotive Components factory, the 12-acre Carlisle Tire & Wheel property, and the three-acre former Tyco Electronics plant.

Tri-County Housing was formerly Tri-County Housing Development Corporation (TCHDC). Tri-County/TCHDC has served Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry Counties since 1990, and has developed or rehabilitated more than 800 units of affordable housing, for rent and purchase. Tri-County rehabilitates abandoned and blighted properties in the City of Harrisburg and throughout Dauphin, Cumberland Counties and Perry Counties.