Rashida Lovely has a vision.
Three-story housing complexes for working class families built on blighted land in South Scranton.
The utilities will run on renewable energy.
Families who live in the apartments can purchase low-cost fresh produce in an automated market. The farmers will grow those crops under solar panels.
“South Scranton represents the most marginalized, low income, blighted area that we have in the City of Scranton. So why not raise the lowest boat? That will lift up everyone," she said. "And we could also show that we don’t have to forget about high-crime, low-income areas. We can work in those areas and actually see and effect change.”
Lovely, a Scranton small-business owner, is part of a coalition of around 20 local companies, farms, social services and housing advocates who applied for a $23 million dollar federal grant to build the innovative, affordable housing. Lovely discussed the project alongside state Rep. Kyle Donahue and Bridget Kosierowski and U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright — all Democrats — during the Climate Action Campaign's Clean Energy REVolution Tour stop at Nay Aug Park in Scranton. The 6-state, 6-week tour is promoting energy efficiency, economic growth and climate solutions across the country.
Lovely’s Newave Enterprises already purchased two plots of blighted land in the 900-block of Slocum and Cedar Avenues from the Lackawanna County Land Bank for under $1,300, according to property records. The land was appealing because its directly across from South Scranton Intermediate School.
"Whether we receive the grant or not, we’re still building affordable housing," she said.
First, they’ll build two apartment buildings with up to 10 units that feature three to four bedrooms. The internet will be free and utilities will cost close to nothing. The apartments will run on solar and geothermal technology. There will be atmospheric water generators.
"And what this will do, is this will give families the opportunity to work a single job, instead of three jobs, to afford quality housing," said Lovely, a member Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection's environmental justice board.
The farmers involved in the project will create agrivoltaic systems, which is where solar panels shield crops. It allows farmers to control the climate, which is known to produce additional yields.
That additional produce will be sold at lost cost at what Lovely is calling the housing complex's automated "Smart Marts."
The construction also will create jobs, many of them union jobs.
“If you just give them housing, that’s not enough. And if you give them food security, that’s not enough," said Lovely, the director of operations for the NEPA Black Chamber of Commerce. "They need a stable income that will raise their living standards.”
She plans to duplicate the model throughout the city, then possibly the state and country.
“Pennsylvania has always looked to other states to find trends that were adoptable. But no more. We are the narrators of our own stories. We are the change that we are looking for, and I look forward to the work," she said.
Donahue took a moment to focus on Scranton. The city is known as the Electric City for pioneering the use of electric lights and streetcars, he said, adding the project has the potential to revitalize Northeastern Pennsylvania.
"This spirit of innovation is alive and well today, as we pursue a transformative project aimed at creating clean energy, efficient and affordable housing alongside more secure, sustainable food sources for underserved communities in Scranton," he said.
Donahue said now is a critical moment in the nation’s journey towards a sustainable future.
"The health of our environment is directly linked to this prosperity and well being of our communities," he said.
Cartwright said projects like this put workers and the middle class first.
"I look forward to celebrating its completion with you in the future," he said.
The group will find out within the next few weeks if they received the grant funding. The funding will be awarded through the Afree Foundation and the Willow Foundation, said Lovely. Then they have three years to complete the project.
