Luther Sitework Solutions superintendent Michael Luther watches while his brother, company president Tony Luther, excavates a basement for one of the three houses the company is building on the site of the former Garfield Elementary School in Fifth Ward. Mirror photo by William Kibler

A contractor has begun construction on three homes at the site of the former Garfield Elementary School in Fifth Ward, on property owned by the Altoona Redevelopment Authority.

Chosen by the authority from among three bidders, due to its highest overall score on a bid evaluation sheet, Luther Sitework Solutions of Duncansville will receive $492,000 for the job, with the authority purchasing all materials and functioning as the developer, according to officials at a groundbreaking Wednesday.

The money for the project comprises $750,000 from the city’s $39.6 million American Rescue Plan Act grant; and $350,000 from the Neighborhood Assistance Plan, which will pay for sitework, officials said.

The RA chose to be the developer so that it could spend the ARPA money before a year-end spending deadline, officials have said.

The project is one of more than a dozen that the authority has either completed or begun or is planning since last year, according to authority member Ron Beatty, who was at the groundbreaking.

The three houses are small, in keeping with modern preferences for affordability and manageability, according to Luther President Tony Luther.

All three will present gable-end roof lines to the front — with two facing 20th Street and one facing 14th Avenue.

The authority purchased the plans that Luther is using.

The authority will sell the houses and use the proceeds for other development projects.

Luther “checked all the boxes” in its bid for the job, Beatty said.

The other bidders were Centennial Resources LLC and Joe Crossman, according to Community Development Director Eric Luchansky.

There are four 0.18-acres lots on the site, one of which will remain common green space, because one edge of that lot ends in a retaining wall that the authority was reluctant for a single property owner to be responsible for maintaining, Luchansky said.

The authority initially intended to award each house to a different contractor, but decided it would be more efficient and less logistically cumbersome for a single contractor to do all three, given the tract isn’t large, Beatty said.

Luther expects a crew of seven or eight will generally be on site during the project, with about 20 individuals altogether.

The company will subcontract electrical and plumbing work.

The company has been in business 24 years, owns 40 investment properties in Blair County and its workers are responsible for maintenance, repairs and renovations on those properties, Luther said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-381-3152.