Butler County and Butler City will receive a combined $650,000 through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday.

The PHARE fund is used for housing and community development initiatives across the state.

The county was given $200,000, and its Redevelopment Authority was given $250,000, both for the Butler County Acquisition Rehab Program.

Through a separate grant, the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Butler was given $200,000 for its Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation program.

The Butler County Acquisition Rehab (BAR) Program will use the PHARE funds to purchase homes that are in foreclosure or blighted.

Those homes will then be turned into rental units for the “hard-to-house” population, according to the project summary.

The BAR received $144,000 in PHARE funds in 2019 and $230,000 in 2018.

The money awarded to the city will be used to award grants to low/middle income homeowners within the city to address any code deficiencies or environmental concerns with their homes, such as lead-based paint or flood damage.

A total of $45.79 million of PHARE funds were given to 214 programs across 67 counties, according to the governor’s office.