By JOSH COTTON

jcotton@timesobserver.com

The empty lot on the south side corner of the intersection at Pennsylvania Avenue and Liberty Street will stay empty for a while longer.

The proposal for the site continues to be a senior housing development project to be funded via Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency tax credits.

But the project was not funded in the PHFA’s 2019 tax credit awards.

City Manager Nancy Freenock said that she learned on Thursday that “the Warren project was not awarded in this most current round of funding.”

The city had partnered with the Hudson Group, which submitted the application and would have carried out the project if awarded.

Freenock said she spoke with Kelley Coey with the Hudson Group on Thursday and explained that “Hudson will apply for tax credit funding again next year. Kelly (Coey), although disappointed, was not surprised by the outcome. As she told us from the start, it usually takes two application rounds before a project is approved.”

Applications for the tax credit program “dropped from 106 in 2018 to 89 in 2019; 38 awards were made,” Freenock said.

“City staff will work again with Kelley and Hudson Group to develop a strong application and hope for a positive result in 2020,” Freenock said.

The proposal would bring 38 to 40 senior housing units to downtown Warren.

The property in question is located at 231 to 237 Pennsylvania Ave. W., is owned by the city and is located in a commercial zone.