For over 20 years, Project HOME has been at the forefront of getting stuff done when it comes to making inroads against Philadelphia's homelessness problem. Not only does the organization provide direct services like healthcare and adult education for the homeless population, but they also advocate for better public policy around the issue. They're also a fairly productive developer of supportive housing for people who need it most. We recently covered one of their most prominent projects to date, the Francis House of Peace, which was finished in 2015. Rather than take a breather from the arduous work of funding and managing development, the organization is marching forward with yet another project, this time much further away from the Center City area where many of their projects have happened lately.
Their next project will happen at 2415 North Broad St., along the stretch of North Broad Street between Temple University and the North Philadelphia train station. This is an area that, despite its location close to the Temple Medical and Temple University campuses and incredibly easy transit access, has plenty of abandoned/derelict property. Having heard that the development broke ground last month, we wanted to check up on it and see what was going on.
Unfortunately, it looks like we traveled up the Broad Street Line to look at an empty lot with nothing but a fence around it and a sign advertising the development on the one-story building that is set to be torn down. Nevertheless, we have faith that work here will be underway shortly and that the project will be a pretty quick build, considering how fast other Project HOME buildings seem to go up. Here's a rendering to show what we can expect in the near future:
The building will have 88 units of affordable housing and retail space along the bottom of the building facing Broad Street. Costing $24M, the per unit price for this project comes out on the higher end at $272K, but that also includes the almost 2,500 square feet of retail space. Originally, this building needed variances from the zoning board because the property is zoned CMX2.5. As a side note, it seems pretty ridiculous that an empty lot along North Broad Street would be zoned less than CMX3, but maybe this will change in the future. We also wanted to share that the building will be certified LEED Silver, and will feature a green roof. In short, this project exemplifies Project HOME's multi-faceted approach to development, which focuses on the strengths of the urban fabric, sustainability, revitalization, and, of course, striving for viable housing for the most vulnerable residents of the city.