This story appears in the May 2021 issue of the Town&Gown
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the State College Community Land Trust has made its mission to sustain the vibrancy and diversity of the borough community by promoting affordable homeownership opportunities.
With 51 houses, 73 homebuyers, and providing financial education for more than 300 individuals, the land trust is focused on creating more inclusive housing opportunities.
“We hear a lot about affordable housing and the affordable housing crisis now, but even way back in 1996, pressure from Penn State student rentals and the growing university was driving housing costs up,” says Anna Kochersperger, the land trust’s outreach and development coordinator. “A lot of working families were leaving the borough at the time, so there was a keen interest to keep people in the borough, to keep a diversity of residents. Not just students, not just working families, but keep a good mix. So, the State College Community Land Trust was created.”