A Feb. 21-22 Mirror article reminded readers that the Altoona Redevelopment Authority’s current mission is to provide enough subsidy assistance in the form of free ground, clear titles and site-preparation help to make housing projects worthwhile.

Additionally, the authority is on the lookout for partners in that effort.

According to Eric Luchansky, Altoona’s community development director, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new Housing Action Plan calls for increasing the number of housing units in the six-county Southern Alleghenies region (Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Somerset, Huntingdon and Fulton counties) by 6,400 by 2035.

That can be regarded by some officials as a tall order, but it must not be considered an impossibility, if the right mindset, vision and energy are in place, as well as a cooperative spirit on all city and other community municipal fronts.

However, on the topic of partners, Altoona might already have one, and that’s exciting.

As the Mirror article of Feb. 21-22 revealed, New Haven, Conn., developer Roberta Hoskie has proposed an initiative whereby she would build a series of tiny homes that the authority and other city officials envision for small lots, many of which were created by house demolitions.

For a long time, it seemed such lots would remain vacant and virtually useless. But over the past year or so, new thinking has emerged that they could be brought back to life, if a developer or developers could be found to undertake the worthy mission of building on them again.

What Hoskie told the authority seems to make her an ideal candidate for what’s envisioned, even if sometime later one or more other developers come forward to expand on what she may accomplish.

There seem to be plenty of vacant lots in the city, and there will be more to come, as Altoona continues to demolish blighted structures.

Meanwhile, it’s clear that among Altoona residents, there are plenty who might like to live in the tiny homes that Hoskie proposes, given that the city has a high percentage of older people, to whom smaller houses are generally appealing, and for whom downsizing is often a goal.

As envisioned by Hoskie, the houses she tentatively proposes would be of modular construction, built by a Schuylkill County company. Each unit would sell for under $200,000, she predicted.

As noted by an official of the company that would build Hoskie’s houses, tiny homes are a “hit” in America’s New England states.

Even though the proposed homes are small, they should enhance – and provide an interesting twist – to certain neighborhoods, not detract from them, as unused vacant lots often do.

To its credit, Altoona is always on the lookout for ways to improve the city, and Hoskie’s proposal could be a great addition to the list of successes.

As we’ve recalled in this space in the past, a woman attending a meeting of a local taxpayers group in the early 1970s blurted out one evening, “We can’t be for them, they’re for progress.”

Think of what she might be thinking at this point in time, considering all that has been achieved. Having witnessed progress, would she be urging other members of her organization to rethink their opinions too?

“What if we look at Altoona as cutting-edge,” Hoskie asked rhetorically. “Look at us as being a trendsetter.”

Altoona already is a trendsetter in a lot of ways. Adding another reason to be proud can only make people here feel more fortunate about having the opportunity to live here — if they pause and really think about it.