Attorney Andy Ralston has been appointed to a 5 year term on the board of directors of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Allentown (RACA).  The RACA was formed in 1965 and is authorized to provide all of the services outlined in the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law of 1945. More specifically, RACA’s mission is to prevent and eliminate blight within the City of Allentown, particularly in the city’s Focus and Rehabilitation Areas (those center city neighborhoods adjacent to downtown). RACA oversees the Blighted Property Review process, acquiring problematic properties through the private market or from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, creating a pipeline of properties for local community development corporations’ First-Time Homebuyer programs, redeveloping key parcels, and providing direction to the City’s overall housing and neighborhood revitalization policy.