A seasoned Philadelphia developer has secured construction financing to build dozens of new apartments in Port Richmond.

Riverwards Group plans to erect 170 units for the second phase of its Somerset Station project. It obtained a roughly $20M senior construction loan from Silver Heights Capital and about $16M in commercial property assessed clean energy funding from Nuveen Green Capital.

Both nonrecourse loans were arranged by a D2 Capital Advisors team including Vice President of Capital Markets Jack Cortese and Chief Operating Officer David Frankel, the firm announced Monday. Riverwards is putting up $10M in equity to cover the remaining portion of the $46M budget.

The project at 2202 E. Somerset St., set to deliver in early 2028, is grandfathered into the city’s 10-year tax abatement that expired in 2022. 

Plans for the 146K SF building include 76 studios, 38 one-bedrooms and 56 two-bedrooms, alongside an on-site parking garage. It will sit adjacent to the 220 units Riverwards built for the first phase of Somerset Station.

That building was sold to the Philadelphia Housing Authority for $58.1M in May 2025, which Cortese said gave lenders confidence in the new project.

“Silver Heights and Nuveen were underwriting a team and a product that had already delivered here,” he said in a release.

“Layer in a thinning supply pipeline ahead of an early 2028 delivery, and we were able to put together a $35.8 million capital stack that fits the business plan and sets Riverwards up well for what comes next at Somerset Station.”

Riverwards Managing Partner Mo Rushdy told the Philadelphia Business Journal in March that he expected financing for the 170-unit project to be finalized in May.

The company is focused on providing relatively low rents underpinned by lower land costs in Philly’s outlying neighborhoods.

“When you go into locations that have not historically seen much development, your land basis is way less and you’re able to provide housing, the naturally occurring affordable housing,” Rushdy told PBJ.