TRPIL receives $150K award for building renovations
Transitional Paths to Independent Living was recently awarded $150,000 toward the multimillion-dollar renovation of the Washington building that will soon be as the nonprofit’s new headquarters.
The group, which advocates for and provides services to people with disabilities in the region, is renovating the former YWCA building on West Maiden Street in Washington near City Hall. When completed, the more than 90-year-old Elizabethan Revival structure will be a fully accessible 28,000-square-foot care facility and community center.
The full project, whose lead contractor is Waller Corp., is expected to cost a total of $9 million. TRPIL chief executive officer Shona Eakin said the additional funds “will make a significant impact as we move forward in renovations.”
The award comes from UPMC Health Plan, a for-profit insurance company owned by UPMC, a nonprofit health care system based in Pittsburgh. The company made the donation through the Department of Community and Economic Development’s neighborhood assistance tax-credit program. Entities that contribute to projects that are eligible for the program receive as much as 55% in state tax credits.
The insurer received credits valued at $82,500 in exchange for the contribution, according to DCED documents.
“UPMC Health Plan is pleased to support TRPIL’s work to help individuals gain and maintain their independence and become equipped for success in all areas of life,” said John Lovelace, president of government programs at UPMC Health Plan, in a statement.
Lovelace is chair of TRPIL’s capital campaign committee for the project.
TRPIL said work was recently finished on a 5,000-square-foot safety area, including an elevator. The UPMC award will help pay for the next phase, which involves work on the building’s gymnasium and stage area, offices on various floors and a new training kitchen for personal care attendants and TRPIL clients.
Joann Naser, chief development officer of the group, said the full project is expected to take another year or two, but that TRPIL will move into the new building prior to then.