Turn The Key In The News

Press Coverage on Turn The Key Celebration of the Closing of the 100th House

September 6, 2024

Philly housing program celebrates selling its 100th property

  • An affordable homeownership program, Turn The Key, has accomplished selling its 100th house in North Philadelphia. Check out the article

Philly’s Turn the Key affordable housing initiative hits 100 houses sold

Turn the Key initiative puts Philly residents into their own homes

Homeownership becomes reality as Turn the Key initiative celebrates 100th home sold

  • Philadelphia celebrated the 100th Turn the Key (TTK) home that was sold to a North Philadelphia woman. Check out the article

This Program Is Helping Philadelphians Buy Affordable Homes

  • One hundred Philly households have closed on newly built affordable homes through the Philadelphia Land Bank’s Turn the Key (TTK) program. Check out the article

Philly program marks the 100th price-restricted home sold toward goal of 1,000

  • In 2022, Philly officials announced Turn the Key, a program that would give away city-owned land to developers. Check out the article

July 31, 2024

Sharon Lundy and her 16-year-old daughter were packing moving boxes, getting ready for the biggest gift Sharon had ever dreamed of providing them both: A brand new, two-story, three-bedroom home with a fenced yard. Check Out the Article

Is Mayor Parker’s Favorite Housing Program Ready for a Glow-up?

May 30, 2024

Turn the Key has been praised by lawmakers — including Parker, who has been a champion of the program since its launch in 2022. She attended one of the program’s groundbreakings in February. Check Out the Article

Turning point: Philly developer wants to forge a legacy that transcends his past

May 24, 2024

Dawud Bey of Fine Print Construction builds market-rate developments and he’s about to start his largest project yet—he was recently awarded 50 vacant lots in Point Breeze to develop Turn the Key homes.  Check Out the Article

New program offers Philly residents a path to first-time home ownership

April 24, 2024

The city and PHDC are looking for first-time buyers to take advantage of the Turn The Key initiative. They’re holding an open house on May 8 at SEPTA headquarters (1234 Market Street) in Center City, Check Out the Article

Philly’s racial wealth gap is wider now than in 1960. Here are programs working to fix it

February 28. 2024

Philly’s racial wealth gap is wider now than in 1960.  This article looks into why that is the case and features programs like our own Turn the Key program. Check Out the Article

Philadelphia housing crisis: Mayor Parker, city leaders break ground on affordable housing initiative

February 20, 2024

There were big smiles everywhere at the city’s Turn The Key event Tuesday. Check Out the Article

How Local Labor Unions are Helping Members Buy Homes

The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jauary 29, 2024

The AGFE union (American Federation of Government Employees) helped a local member navigate the homebuying process by offering down-payment assistance and a loan (with no private mortgage insurance, to boot). Check Out the Article.

Turn the Key breaks ground on 17th affordable housing complex in Grays Ferry

February 22, 2024

Developments like these can help bring more Black and brown homeowners to the area, says one local developer. Check Out the Article

2023

City officials, developers break ground on new affordable housing development in Haddington

December 5, 2023

More affordable homes are coming to West Philadelphia thanks to the city’s Turn the Key program, which helps put vacant, publicly owned land back into use. Check Out the Article

Penn Community Bank & PHDC Creating More Affordable Homeownership Opportunities

November 29, 2023

“Community banks play a critical role in forging a path to fair and equitable housing for as many people as possible. In close collaboration with nonprofits, local governments, and dedicated developers, financial institutions like Penn Community Bank can serve as catalysts of change,” said Bernard Tynes, Penn Community Bank Chief Marketing and Impact Officer. Check Out the Article

Development for Good:Philly Workforce Homes

October 26, 2023

Growing up in Germantown, Alexis Smith-Williams heard a constant refrain from her mother and grandmothers: Buy your own house. “That was something they always talked to me about, Alexis, buy yourself a house,” Smith-Williams recalls. “Since the time I was grown, it was always, Buy yourself a house.Check Out the Article

Philly officials celebrated the first house sold in a city initiative to build up to 1,000 price-restricted homes

The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 7, 2023

The first Turn the Key (TTK) home is complete! A Philadelphia Water Department employee will live in this rowhome near 4th and Snyder in South Philly. This program assists first-time homebuyers by subsidizing mortgages for homes developed on city-owned land. The goal is to build 1,000 homes. So far, 631 have been approved and 277 are under construction in Brewerytown, Grays Ferry, Port Richmond, Sharswood and West Poplar.  Check Out the Article

2022

The Neighborhood Preservation Initiative will give buying preference to Philly municipal workers looking to become homeowners for the first time. Check Out the Article

Affordable housing in Grays Ferry

November 24,2023

The ribbon was cut, celebrating the availability of 26 new affordable housing units in the Grays Ferry neighborhood of South Philadelphia. Check Out the Article

Philly City Council ‘turns the key’ on affordable housing program

April 30, 2022

A new city program, known as, appropriately enough, “Turn the Key” will provide 1,000 affordable houses through City Council’s Neighborhood Preservation Initiative (NPI). Check Out the Article