Analysis Shows Structural Housing Challenge Limits Erie’s Ability to Grow
Developed over months of collaborations with Erie civic, community and business leaders, Infinite Erie released an action-oriented housing plan today to address Erie’s chronic housing shortage. The Erie Housing Accelerator Plan, includes a Housing Needs Analysis that shows the City of Erie is facing a significant affordable housing crisis and outlines a pathway to develop 250 new units of affordable, workforce, and supportive housing in the next five years in Erie’s core neighborhoods.
“The analysis, led by Hemlock & Forge and Fourth Economy, shows that Erie needs significant investment in safe, quality housing to stabilize our core neighborhoods,” said Kim Thomas, Executive Director, Infinite Erie. “With new local leadership and eager community development partners, the time is right to accelerate the rate of housing development by working together and aligning funding in a focused way.”
Just as Erie Refocused shined a light on the state of housing blight in Erie’s neighborhoods, The Erie Housing Accelerator Plan will rally for our public agencies, community development partners, and funders to act in concert to develop 250 new units of affordable, workforce, and supportive housing in the next five years. Investing in Erie’s core neighborhoods, housing its workforce, and stabilizing its low-income households is a bedrock of our regional growth strategy.
Infinite Erie has already begun facilitating a planning process with a Housing Accelerator Workgroup to identify anchor housing projects in core Erie neighborhoods and align public and private funding to move the projects from concept to construction.
“We encourage everyone to read The Housing Accelerator Plan and use this analysis and framework to inspire collective action to invest in our core Erie neighborhoods. The plan positions us to demonstrate to investors – private and public – that we are ready to take on the persistent housing crisis and address homelessness in Erie.”
The housing needs analysis shows that Erie faces significant structural challenges that limit the city’s ability to produce, preserve, and modernize its housing stock. The city has a deficit of deeply affordable and workforce units, increasing homelessness, a shortage of one-bedroom homes, and increasing pressure on renters as low-cost units disappear. At the same time, construction costs, financing gaps, and limited local development capacity have stalled new production and placed existing affordable units at risk.
The Housing Accelerator establishes a coordinated model to address these systemic barriers by building a predictable project pipeline, strengthening neighborhood-level investment strategies, and expanding the tools available to mission-driven developers.
The stated goal in the Accelerator Report and Playbook is to build 250 units in the next five years to meet three goals along the housing continuum:
- Goal 1: Supportive Housing
- Goal: Build 50 units of permanent supportive housing to address chronic homelessness
- Goal 2: Affordable Housing
- Goal: 100 new units of affordable housing in core Erie neighborhoods, with 25 units dedicated to first-time minority homeowners
- Goal 3: Workforce Housing
- Goal: 100 new units of workforce housing to bring Erie’s workforce to core neighborhoods
The goal is supported by a blended capital structure that leverages public, private, and philanthropic resources alongside capacity-building support and shared project management. This framework is designed to move Erie from incremental, one-off projects to a sustained approach capable of increasing supply, stabilizing key neighborhoods, and improving long-term housing outcomes across the city.
“While coordinating locally is a crucial step, funding at the state level is critical to accomplishing these goals in Erie, and we were pleased to see significant housing investments in Governor Shapiro’s proposed budget. We will be working hard to garner legislative support for new funding to help advance our housing goals, as outlined in the 2026 Playbook.”
The Infinite Erie Housing Accelerator is identified in the Infinite Erie 2026 Playbook as a shared priority for Erie County.
To learn more about the Infinite Erie Playbook projects, visit the 2026 Infinite Erie Playbook. Stay up to date with Infinite Erie on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
