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Housing advocates in West Philadelphia are urging the city to take on nearly 1,000 privately held rental units so they can remain affordable into the future.
The portfolio of properties is home to roughly 3,000 tenants, who fear they’ll be displaced if the city doesn’t strike a deal and the subsidized units become market-rate under new ownership.
“People are going to become homeless,” said longtime tenant Carlos Boothe during a Thursday afternoon rally in Kingsessing. “Let’s keep it affordable.”
For now, developer Neighborhood Restorations controls the portfolio, which comprises 925 units scattered across about a dozen neighborhoods, including areas where property values are rising. The list includes Powelton Village, Cedar Park, Walnut Hill and Overbrook, as well as neighborhoods in Southwest Philadelphia like Cobbs Creek.
The properties are all backed by tax credits with expiring affordability restrictions. Most of them are single-family homes, and many tenants have rented the same apartment for years.
Advocates are pushing the city to reach a deal while it has the ability to put forth a priority bid to buy the units. Under city law, that window ends in early July. After that, Neighborhood Restorations can start marketing these homes to the general public, which could translate to higher rents that current tenants can’t afford.
Kingsessing block captain April Turner has rented a four-bedroom home from Neighborhood Restorations for more than 20 years. She shares it with her six children and said the city owes it to her and her neighbors to keep their homes affordable — and to give tenants the opportunity to buy them where possible.
“[Mayor Cherelle] Parker said when she ran, ‘I’m going to support homeownership and affordable homes.’ Now we’re saying, ‘You said it. Let’s prove it,’” said Turner outside an apartment complex on Chester Avenue, where dozens gathered on the sidewalk.