A vacant public housing complex overlooking West Philadelphia is one stop closer to coming back online after a large-scale redevelopment project commenced Monday morning.
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The Philadelphia Housing Authority broke ground on the entirely affordable, 327-unit first phase of its Westpark Apartments redevelopment. This phase is expected to cost $205M.
The overall plan calls for 1,000 mixed-income units at the corner of Market and 44th streets available to rent by 2030, PHA CEO Kelvin Jeremiah said.
Of the initial 327 units, 140 units are earmarked for former residents of the now-vacant complex.
Those residents include Angela Foster, who was the last to leave in 2022 and plans to be the first to return when units come online next year.
“I have a whole list of people that’s ready to come back,” Foster, who arrived in 1979 and raised her two kids there, said at the groundbreaking event.
Foster said she was at one point barred from Philadelphia City Council meetings due to her vociferous advocacy for residents of the derelict complex. But on Monday, an array of elected officials, including Mayor Cherelle Parker and Gov. Josh Shapiro, came to celebrate her work.
The design for the first phase of the project — a partnership between PHA, L+M Development Partners and MSquared — will include new retail, one acre of green space and a community center with social services for residents.
Tenants are also slated to benefit from connections with the surrounding neighborhood, including an Aldi and the 46th Street Market-Frankford Line stop.
“The development will be integrated back into the city streetscape,” PHA's Jeremiah said of the plans, which include the adaptive reuse of three looming towers on the site. “No longer will it be an urban enclave, a super block.”
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Parker said the affordable and market-rate units will be comparable and distributed evenly across the community. PHA will retain a ground lease at the property, which is set to be managed by Greystar.
“We are doubling the amount of deed-restricted affordable housing units on this site,” said Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents the neighborhood.
The first phase's $205M price tag includes $21M in federal funds, $7M from the state and $3M from the city’s Division of Housing and Community Development. The project is expected to create 1,500 union construction jobs.
The groundbreaking followed the introduction of Shapiro's $1B statewide housing plan last month. Without action, he said Pennsylvania is set to have a 185,000-unit shortage by 2035.
This came after the city council greenlit funding for Parker’s HOME Initiative, which seeks to build or rehab 30,000 units citywide.
“This project represents the kind of progress we want to make all across the commonwealth,” Shapiro said. “This is a model.”
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