The future of Westpark<\/p>\n
Nearly 600 units will be considered affordable to PHA residents. The rest will be a mix of market-rate and workforce housing, a tier of housing that will be available to households earning no more than 120% of the area median income. That translates to $143,300 for a family of four.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited by the transformation coming to Westpark,\u201d Councilmember Jamie Gauthier said after PHA\u2019s board approved the work<\/a> in January 2023. \u201cDuring one of the worst housing crises the city has ever seen, we need to do everything we can to preserve and create affordable housing and provide low-income families with high-quality, stable homes.\u201d<\/p>\n The plan for Westpark is significantly different from the project PHA announced in 2019. Back then, the agency wanted to sell or demolish the two family towers on the site, while rehabbing the senior tower.<\/p>\n That proposal, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and staunch political opposition<\/a>, was later replaced with a project that\u2019s the product of a collaboration with New York outfits LMXD and MSquared. Jeremiah has said the decision to keep the towers intact was financially driven.<\/p>\n Money is also behind the most recent delay.<\/p>\n Construction was expected to start in early 2024, but it took until the end of last year to finalize critical elements of the agency\u2019s funding stack for Westpark, primarily low-income housing tax credits from the state, said Jeremiah.<\/p>\n High interest rates, including on construction loans, as well as fallout from tariffs recently imposed on building materials that were already more expensive, also postponed the project.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the market is good, we\u2019re in it,\u201d Jeremiah said. \u201cWhen the market is not so good, we still have to continue to do work necessary to build, to preserve and expand housing choices for Philadelphians. And we\u2019re skilled at doing it I think.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cOpening Doors\u201d plan is viewed as a companion to Mayor Cherelle Parker\u2019s signature housing plan, which seeks to preserve and create 30,000 units of housing across incomes.<\/p>\n Before the holidays, City Council approved funding for the first phase<\/a> of the Housing Opportunities Made Easy initiative. The vote came amid intense pressure from the Parker administration, which strongly opposed changes made to the budget measure to prioritize Philadelphia\u2019s lowest-income households.<\/p>\n