The Altoona Redevelopment Authority has obtained its first property by eminent domain in many years.

It’s a brick corner house on the 1800 block of Fifth Avenue, and it came into the authority’s possession March 9, after expiration of required notices, according to officials at a recent authority meeting.

The authority plans to seek a developer to rehabilitate the property as a single-family residence, according to Community Development Director Eric Luchansky.

The authority was able to obtain the property by eminent domain after the recent revival of the Blighted Property Review Committee, whose approval for eminent domain is a necessary legal step.

Eminent domain is useful when a property is causing a blight problem, but is not too far gone to rehabilitate — and the owner can’t be located or is unwilling to fix it or sell it.

City officials have been pushing for intervention on blighted properties before they’re too far gone, so that they don’t need to be demolished.

The authority has also obtained another house for rehabilitation by a different method.

It’s a vacant, moderately blighted Knickerbocker rowhouse on the 4000 block of Fifth Avenue, and it came into the authority’s possession last week via negotiation with the owner, who lives in Missouri.

It initially came to the attention of the authority from the Department of Codes and Inspections, Luchansky said.

Luchansky called the owner and worked out a price of $10,000.

The addition of housing through the rescue of blighted houses that haven’t deteriorated too far is making inroads into an 800-unit housing shortage in the city, as estimated in a recent study by the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission, according to City Manager Christopher McGuire.

Those are mainly units in the middle price range.

“The missing middle,” McGuire said.

That would include homes that are affordable for families starting out, McGuire said.

Having a “full spectrum of housing” options is one of the main draws for organizations that seek new locations for business, as is having a decent school district, McGuire said.

The city has a good school district, he said.

Having a full slate of housing options — a good score on “rooftops” — is one of the ways the city can prevent “brain drain,” the exodus of young people looking for better opportunities elsewhere, he said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.