Local and state government officials, community leaders and residents convened Thursday at Centennial Place in Farrell to join in Mercer County Housing Authority's grand opening celebration.

U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who is touring northwestern Pennsylvania, served as keynote speaker at the observance and also joined in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, attended by about 100 people.

Santorum, R-Pa., was instrumental in helping the housing authority secure a $9 million Hope VI grant, which helped cover a portion of the $30 million cost.

After visiting Farrell about three years ago, Santorum said he was impressed with the community's spirit to make change. For that reason and others, Santorum focused his efforts on securing a grant for the project.

Hope VI is a limited federal program, providing for, at most, one project in Pennsylvania a year. It is designed to recapture urban areas and rebuild neighborhoods and communities.

"We tend to support big cities with Hope VI, but it's important for smaller mill towns to get a piece of the action," Santorum said. "This is obviously a wonderful complex."

Santorum said he believed in the project and the community was worthy of it. He added that the residents are more important than "bricks and mortar."

"We cannot build strong communities without strong housing, neighborhoods, and strong values within those neighborhoods," he said. "It is a great day for me to be here to see the physical structures, but the men and women working with it and the people who are going to be living here" are also important.

Centennial Place, formerly known as Steel City Terrace, was named for the centennial year of 2001, which marked Farrell's founding. Centennial Place has gone through the first phase of development -- the demolition of 150 distressed Farrell Terrace units and the construction of 53 new apartments.

The 145 apartments are duplexes and triplexes that, when completed, will feature 119 rental units and 26 single-family, two- and three-bedroom homes.

Of the first 19 apartments that are occupied, 16 tenants are former Steel City residents. An additional 34 apartments will soon be ready.

L. Dewitt Boosel, the authority's executive director, said the project was a team effort. National City Bank invested close to $5 million in the project, its first in Hope VI. The housing authority partnered with developers Falbo-Pennrose of Pittsburgh, which manages the new complex. Farrell Mayor Bill Morocco and city council also worked "hand in hand" with the authority on the project, Boosel said.

"It's wonderful," Morocco said of the development. "The (life skills) training are what will truly make it a success."

As those in attendance toured handicapped, two- and three-bedroom apartments, nothing but great words could be heard.

Kind words also came from Ralph Falbo, president of Falbo Inc., which never faced a problem with the project; Kip Sobel, National City's area executive director, who applauded the efforts of the authority and developer teams; and Richard Nemoytin, field office director at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, who said he couldn't have picked a better group of people to work with.

Carol Gurrera, authority chairwoman, called Centennial Place the "crown jewel" of all the housing authority's many projects. State Sen. Robert D. "Bob" Robbins of Salem Township, R-50th District, called the project "outstanding." He said having it within a designated Keystone Opportunity Zone helps clean up the site. "The big thing is it ... enhances the whole town," he said.

At the end of the ceremony, JoAnn Newell, CSS coordinator, presented achievement certificates to five housing authority residents who completed certain programs, or performed good deeds related to Section 3. Section 3 focuses on providing economic opportunity to low-income public-housing residents and residents in the community.

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