Be a Gem Crossing opened last month where a nuisance motel once stood. Nonprofit group North10 Philadelphia oversaw the approximately $20 million development in Hunting Park. The four-story property on Germantown Avenue has 41 apartments and a ground-floor commercial space that will become the home of a yet-to-be-formed community organization. Most of the units have two or three bedrooms, all of them heavily subsidized through the Housing Choice Voucher Program administered locally by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Under the program, residents pay no more than 30% of their adjusted monthly income. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development makes up the difference between those payments and the full contract rent, within certain limits. “The term affordable is all relative based on what your income is. We really did try our best to make this affordable to the average income,” said Joshua Klaris, North10’s executive director. Residents are grateful for the project, as the site once housed Liberty Motel, a rent-by-the-hour establishment that became a haven for crime.
Source: PlanPhilly; 3/8/2024