While running in last year’s Democratic primary for mayor, Cherelle L. Parker repeatedly promised to build 30,000 units of affordable housing. “I have a plan to grow Philadelphia’s economy,” Parker said in a televised forum last spring. “It includes the building of 30,000 affordable units of housing.” At a forum last May, she again vowed “to create 30,000 units of affordable housing.” But at some point after she won that race, the mayor appears to have dropped the “affordable” part. Since at least her Jan. 2 inauguration, Parker has shifted to describing that campaign promise as a plan to build or repair 30,000 homes of any kind. That means the administration will include homes and rentals constructed by private-sector builders as well as houses repaired using government-funded programs. “Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has always seen the goal of 30,000 housing units in a broad, comprehensive way, encompassing market rate and affordable housing, the restoration and rehabilitation of existing homes, and private and public housing development,” said John Mondlak, the city’s interim director of planning and development. Despite that significant change, experts say that Parker’s goal would be a meaningful increase. The last administration, for instance, approved less than half that number of new units in its first term. Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 4/30/2024