The opening of The Parker apartment building at 13th and Bainbridge streets a few months ago could be the start of a new way of creating affordable housing in Philly. That’s due to a unique agreement between the city and the building’s developer. A third of The Parker’s apartments are income-restricted, but the developer built the units without financial aid from the government beyond the cheap land it got from the city. Tenants pay market-rate rents for most of the apartments, which helps support the homes where tenants pay less. An innovative aspect of The Parker arrangement is that the city still owns the land that the building sits on, which means the city can make sure the development firm holds up its end of the deal and that some of the site’s homes remain permanently affordable. Cities and housing authorities across the country are making similar moves to build mixed-income housing without federal government aid, which is in short supply. City Council President Kenyatta Johnson praised The Parker as a model for future affordable housing projects. Read more in the Inquirer.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 12/30/2024