PHDC is making a difference in communities across Philadelphia. Our programs help improve housing stock. We help homebuyers and renters. We bring art and green spaces to our neighborhoods. We support businesses that create jobs. Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and its residents benefit from the work of PHDC. Our successes are Philadelphia’s successes.
Carl Mackley Houses Renovation
Multi-family industry leader WinnCompanies announced today it has acquired Carl Mackley Houses, built in the Great Depression as the nation’s first federally funded housing complex, and has started a $23.7 million project to completely renovate the historic 184-unit affordable housing community in northeast Philadelphia.
The rehabilitation effort will modernize apartment kitchens and bathrooms in four residential buildings; install central air conditioning in all units; replace all windows and roofs; upgrade common areas; and renovate 19 apartments to make them fully accessible for persons with mobility impairments, while adapting eight units for use by people with sensory impairments.
“The City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC), in conjunction with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA), are thrilled to provide gap financing for this important project, preserving 184 affordable housing units for the community,” said Gregory Heller, senior vice president of community investment for PHDC.“
Percent for Art
Sixty years ago, Philadelphia created the first Percent for Art program in the country. Today there are hundreds of art pieces in neighborhoods all over the city. These sculptures, murals, gardens and other installations are some of Philadelphia’s most beloved and iconic images.
In 2021, PHDC partnered with the Knight Foundation through ART IS PHL, a program for artists working in all mediums and at every experience level. The goal is to create high-quality, artist-driven, and community-informed public art. We hope to provide opportunities for both funding and exposure for artists who may not have previously considered or had access to this type of arts practice. The resulting projects will be temporary public artworks.
Emergency Rental Assistance
Assistance to tenants and landlords impacted by COVID 19.
Philadelphia-Emergency-Rental-Assistance-Report-as-of-3-26-2021
Germantown/Mt Airy Properties
PHDC through PRA successfully
gained control of a portfolio of properties in Germantown and Mt. Airy in 2019 and has sought to ensure that the properties are in clean and safe condition, and that the tenanted units are well managed, while working toward the eventual
redevelopment of these properties as affordable housing for the community.
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Workforce Housing
April 30, 2021, PHDC and Civetta Property Group hosted a virtual ribbon-cutting to celebrate 19 new units of workforce housing in the Grays Ferry section of Philadelphia.
“The workforce housing programs give our working-class residents who want to live in neighborhoods that are increasing in cost the chance to buy a house in those communities,” said Mayor Jim Kenney.
Developers are happy to build luxury housing, and government funding helps support low- and moderate-income housing. To help the group in the middle, PHDC offers assistance with financing through a credit enhancement.
Land Management Numbers
Strategic property acquisitions increased from 21 in FY17 to 312 in FY19. In FY20, 157 properties where acquired. Acquisitions in FY 20 were cut short due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Acquisitions through FY20 have returned $2.1 million in back taxes to the Philadelphia School District.
Dispositions have increased as well, from 241 properties in FY18 to 305 in FY19 and 321 in FY20. Dispositions through FY20 have brought in excess of $3 million in revenue.
License agreements, which grant temporary access to property, help to formalize existing individual and community gardens. In FY19 and FY20 104 license agreements have been signed.
Community Gardens
A community garden is one way that vacant land can benefit the neighborhood. Community gardens bring neighbors together, provide fresh food and flowers, and remove blight. Philadelphia is home to many community gardens, and PHDC is ready to help neighbors create more.