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Councilmember Gauthier introduces bills to speed up affordable housing, “bonus unit” production

January 30, 2025

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District), chair of the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless, has introduced the second phase of her “Defying Displacement” campaign, which aims to preserve and create affordable housing.

This phase introduces a series of bills that focus on cutting red tape by speeding up the approval process for affordable housing developments and making it easier for homeowners to turn extra space into bonus units so that they can remain in their homes.

The city can speed up development and reduce costs by reviewing affordable housing quickly and efficiently, ultimately leading to lower prices for prospective tenants, according to a statement by Gauthier. It can take more than nine months and cost thousands of dollars to receive a zoning variance in the current variance process. Gauthier argues that this disproportionately impacts affordable housing because many developers interested in affordable housing rely on extra density to keep the price-per-unit low.

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Habitat for Humanity begins work on affordable housing in Mantua

September 23, 2024

The Habitat for Humanity project starts to fill in the gap along a Reno St. rowhouse block. (Photos by Tony West)

Work has begun to create new affordable housing in West Philadelphia on four lots at 40th and Reno in Mantua, in a project by Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia. Part of Habitat’s strategy: free land and labor.

Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide nonprofit organization, now 48 years old, whose mission is to build or repair homes that low-income people will own. This development began with four vacant lots that had been picked up by the Philadelphia Land Bank. Habitat Philadelphia worked with Mantua Civic Association and Councilmember Jamie Gauthier to acquire them for 3-bedroom owner occupancy houses.

“Volunteerism is a key part of the method, recruiting corporate partners as well as homeowners,” said Habitat spokesperson Adam McGrath. On a day last week two dozen workers from Children’s Hospital and Gilbane Building Co. joined Habitat crew to assemble the framing for exterior walls, a task that will keep them busy the rest of September.

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New 4-story apartment building to replace former Millcreek Tavern building at 42nd and Chester (updated)

August 5, 2024

The former Millcreek Tavern building is expected to be demolished soon.

UPDATE (8/8/2024): The demolition work on the site of the former Millcreek Tavern at 42nd and Chester has begun and includes the three-story building behind the red-brick Tavern building (see photo).

(8/5/2024): A redevelopment project that began more than five years ago is finally moving forward. A permit was issued this summer to demolish the former Millcreek Tavern building at the corner of 42nd Street and Chester Avenue to make way for a 4-story apartment building on the site, which encompasses 4200-4202 Chester Ave., according to a zoning permit issued earlier this year. The new building will include 34 residential units, including seven affordable housing units, 12 bicycle parking spaces and a green roof.

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Westpark Apartments redevelopment project – near 46th and Market – receives federal funding

June 25, 2024

Westpark Apartments (Photo: West Philly Local).

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA), which provides affordable housing for Philadelphia’s low-income residents and which has been working on the redevelopment plan for the Westpark Apartments in West Philadelphia, will receive $21.3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The grant will support the creation of a new street grid and pedestrian infrastructure to facilitate the redevelopment of the apartment complex located near 46th and Market.

The project will include an extension of the existing street grid in order to create new space for housing and connect the Westpark Apartments footprint to SEPTA’s 46th Street station. It will also create a new network of shared streets, sidewalks, and bike infrastructure that will help integrate new, forthcoming housing more seamlessly into the neighborhood.

U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) and U.S. Representative Dwight Evans (D-PA-3) helped secure the grant. The funding comes from a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability & Equity (RAISE) Grant, funded by the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act (IIJA).

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Habitat for Humanity breaks ground on new affordable homes in Mantua

June 6, 2024

Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia breaks ground on four new homes in West Philadelphia. From left: Miss Bernice, West Philadelphia resident; Kim Mathis, Habitat homeowner and former Board member; Jamie Gauthier, City Councilmember, 3rd District; Corinne O’Connell, Habitat Philadelphia CEO; Floyd Lebron, Habitat Philadelphia Board Chair; Daryn Edwards, Principal, CICADA Architecture; Carlo Arjona, Senior Project Manager. (Photo by Cary Porter)

Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia held a public groundbreaking ceremony on June 5 for a 40th Street Rowhomes project in the Mantua neighborhood.

A crowd of about 50 residents, supporters and staff cheered as the first shovels dug into the site at 40th and Reno Streets that will see four affordable homes built and sold to first-time homebuyers. Habitat Philadelphia Board Chair, Floyd Lebron, CEO Corinne O’Connell, and City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier provided remarks.

Habitat Philadelphia sells new homes with zero-interest mortgages to buyers making between 30-80 percent of the Area Median Income, creating equity and a foundation for families to thrive.

“When I meet families in our homeownership program, they inevitably say, ‘This is the first time I’ve heard yes,’ said Corinne O’Connell, CEO. “‘This is the first time I’m going to be able to catch my breath.’ That is what gives us the urgency to build more and do more.”

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204-unit residential complex with affordable housing units proposed for parking lot at 52nd and Chestnut

May 28, 2024

View from Ludlow Street (rendering image). Credit: KCA Design Associates

A new residential complex that includes two six-story buildings has been proposed for a parking lot at 5235 Chestnut Street. The buildings would include 204 units, 41 of which are designated as affordable housing, with rental prices starting at $700 per unit. Both buildings would also include some commercial spaces on the ground floor.

One, smaller building, will include 33 residential units and will be on Chestnut Street, and the other –  with 131 units – will be located along Ludlow Street, according to the proposal (see rendering below). The complex will also include bike parking spaces and various amenities, including a gym.

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