Johnny Williams
Freelance Journalist

The Marcellus Shale is helping to create gas-heated housing in places that never had it before, Tiffany Pines in Susquehanna County being a prime example.

Hidden behind a treeline off of Route 706 near Montrose sits a freshly constructed little community known as the Meadows at Tiffany Pines. The buildings project a modern, yet compact essence; reflecting the feeling of a tight-knit community. It’s a project made possible, in part, by Marcellus Shale development that brought natural gas service to Susquehanna County by taking what comes out of the ground there and putting it back into the community.

An older woman sits out front on a lawn chair, soaking up the brief glimpses of the July sun and talking on the phone while a couple of kids run through the cool grass.

A little girl runs up and asks me, “What are all those people doing in the main office?”

“Oh, they’re just talking,” I replied.

It was a poor and overly simple answer, I admit, because they were actually celebrating. It was a ribbon cutting ceremony on the completion of the 40 unit affordable housing project set forth by Trehab Community Action Agency, an advocate and service provider for the poor, under- and unemployed, seniors and other at-risk groups.

“It has been our goal to establish a plan to provide housing in areas of the gas industry to assist the housing needs of people in those areas,” Executive Directos Dennis Phelps said.

The $11 million development started construction two years ago (see photo above), and is part of Trehab’s Strategic Plan to “cooperate with local government officials to assist in housing development to meet a serious housing shortage for low and moderate income families and seniors, and to provide affordable housing to county residents,” according to information at the event.

Of particular note, the housing development becomes one of the first customers of the expanded Leatherstocking natural gas distribution system in Montrose, meaning Tiffany Pines will be burning low-cost, Marcellus Shale natural gas that was extracted from beneath the residents’ feet, resulting in “dramatic savings” in heating costs.

“Cabot Oil (and Gas) and Leatherstocking distribute in conjunction with Susquehanna County Commissioners, and area legislators initiated efforts to expend natural gas services to the county,” the ribbon cutting announcement said. “Leatherstocking expanded to Susquehanna County in 2014. The impetus of expansion was to anchor to large projects to use as basis to expand to northern Susquehanna County. The new Montrose Hospital, Montrose school and Tiffany Pines assisted implementation of delivery of residential infrastructure to the area.”

“We’ve had excellent cooperation and relationships with both Cabot and Leatherstocking,” Phelps said. “They’ve been huge supporters from the beginning.”

“We’re proud to support local gas, local jobs and local people,” Cabot External Affairs Coordinator Bill desRosiers said. “It’s a fantastic feeling to see that we’re able to help provide gas to local residents.”

Several government officials were also on hand for the event, and all were appreciative and thankful of the efforts that Trehab and its supporters put into the project.

“This project exemplifies affordable, quality housing at its finest, providing a new lease on life for its residents,” Senator Gene Yaw commented in a statement. “I commend Trehab and all the partners involved who have made this project a reality.”

Tiffany Pines is just the latest example of natural gas and communities working together. Trehab is also in the middle of constructing the Towanda Terrace in Bradford County, a housing development that is being aided by the impact fee. Rent-up for Tiffany Pines began in December and was filled in a month.

“We moved in back in January,” said one Tiffany Pines resident, formerly of North Carolina. “We’ve felt more than welcome here and it is nothing short of fantastic. It’s affordable and we love it.”