Philadelphia Housing Authority Continues to Expand Affordable Housing Opportunities

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Philadelphia Housing Authority Continues to Expand Affordable Housing Opportunities

The agency acquires two new properties as part of PHA's pledge to preserve and expand Philadelphia's aging, affordable housing stock.

(Philadelphia, PA - January 21, 2025) - The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) announced today that it has completed deals to buy two properties which, once renovated, will expand affordable housing opportunities for city residents.

The PHA purchased Legacy at Powelton located at 3608 Spring Garden Street, and University City Flats at 4030 Baring Street. These acquisitions are the third and fourth major acquisitions by PHA since last fall. The agency obtained its first property, Brith Sholom Senior Center in Wynnfield Heights, in September. Earlier this month, the agency purchased The Dane Apartments, located near City Avenue in Wynnfield.

"These two new acquisitions will propel our efforts to save and expand the city's inventory of affordable housing," PHA CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah said. "The properties will benefit low-income households, seniors, persons with disabilities, and moderate-income households. This Philadelphians forward-looking approach will help position PHA to best serve Philadelphians with low and moderate incomes for generations to come. Ultimately, our goal is to acquire units at reasonable cost while providing varied housing options for the people we serve."

"PHA is making strategic housing investments and intends to acquire approximately 2,000 units throughout Philadelphia by the first quarter of 2026 to meet the need for affordable housing," said Jeremiah, "It is far less expensive for PHA to purchase and rehabilitate existing properties than it is to build new housing."

Jeremiah thanked the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker for her unwavering support for affordable housing and public housing. "Safe and affordable housing is a major priority for Mayor Parker's administration. PHA is proud to support her through acquisitions such as these," he said.

"The City of Philadelphia and the Parker administration strongly supports these two property acquisitions by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, which will add 74 units of affordable housing to our inventory," said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. "Every ounce of intergovernmental collaboration that we do together with PHA and every other housing agency helps to produce more options for more Philadelphians deserving of a safe, well-built place to call home. We thank CEO Jeremiah for his leadership and look forward to many more opportunities to work together and produce more affordable housing for city residents who need it."

Details on the new acquisitions:

• The Legacy at Powelton Village was purchased for $6 million. It is situated just minutes from Drexel University in the 19104 Zip Code. The property comprises a total of 30 units, including three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments, as well as one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments.
• University City Flats was acquired for $14 million. It is situated in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia (also zip code 19104). The property consists of 44 four-bedroom units, which were previously designated as student housing. PHA plans to convert these units into two- and three-bedroom apartments to better meet current housing demands. Do we want to say what our plans are? Can we say we plan to tailor the units to align with our waitlist requirements.

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About the Philadelphia Housing Authority:

The Philadelphia Housing Authority's mission is to open doors to affordable housing, economic, opportunity, and safe sustainable communities to benefit Philadelphia residents with low incomes. To learn more visit www.pha.phila.gov.