Lancaster Redevelopment Fund, Inc.

The Lancaster Redevelopment Fund is a nonprofit organization which supports affordable housing and community development activities in Lancaster County which benefit underserved residents and communities.

The Lancaster Redevelopment fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the creation of affordable housing solutions for low- and moderate-income residents of Lancaster County.  Through the Redevelopment Fund our staff works to ensure that all residents of Lancaster County have a safe, affordable place to call home. We believe that having access to stable housing is transformative in the lives of our unhoused and low-income neighbors.  We utilize innovative techniques to create new affordable housing including the conversion of underutilized spaces into housing, which addresses community disinvestment by giving a purpose to an otherwise empty community space.  Through partnerships with municipalities throughout the county and other social service organizations we envision a future in Lancaster where every person has a place to call home.

Our focus this year is immediate community need for the construction of the Clay Street Low Barrier Emergency Shelter.

The shelter will be the first permanent, year-round emergency shelter operating in Lancaster since 2009.  This important community resource will provide a dry, safe place to sleep for individuals who would otherwise be on the street, and a stepping stone where they, working alongside case managers, can begin to address the circumstances that led to homelessness or are keeping them homeless. The need in our community is high, between 2023 and 2024 Lancaster County experienced a 14% increase in unsheltered homeless.  With the closure of the temporary shelter located in the city at the end of June our most vulnerable neighbors have been left with few options for safe, overnight accomodations. Because of the immediate need we began renovations of the facility in August, working with a highly skilled team led by Wohlsen Construction, so that doors to the new shelter will open during the cold months of Winter when need is at its highest. The cost for construction is $2.8 million to renovate over 9,000 square feet and includes the installation of important new infrastructure including an elevator, generator, HVAC, security and fire safety systems, and restroom and shower facilities. As of November 18, 2024, construction is nearly 75% completed thanks to the diligent and hardworking crew of contractors and subcontractors working to make this space a reality, but now we need our community to step up and support this project as we work to build the Road to Home.

Please join us in our mission to strengthen communities by creating safe, accessible, thriving places to live.

Who We Are

The Lancaster Redevelopment Fund works in the boroughs and townships of Lancaster County to remove blight and promote community revitalization. Your gift will help us acquire, manage and purchase vacant and blighted properties and rehabilitate them into safe and affordable homes that increase property values and tax revenues, stabilizes neighborhoods and improves overall economic health. All funds received will be used to purchase and rehabilitate vacant and blighted properties in the boroughs of Lancaster County.