Affordable housing project to be built on vacant North Philly lots

A $1.7 million grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency will support the construction of 40 affordable homes on a mostly vacant and blighted block in North Philadelphia's Fairhill neighborhood.

The grant was awarded to the Women's Community Revitalization Project, one of the city's leading developers of affordable housing. It will bring three buildings to a group of lots at 513-533 W. Cumberland St., a neighborhood where 42% of residents earn less than $25,000 per year, PolicyMap data show.

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The project calls for two one-bedroom units, 23 two-bedroom units and 15 three-bedroom units, including 10 homes reserved for people with physical disabilities. Tenants will be supported by project-based rental subsidies tied to their income. WCRP expects to complete the three buildings in early 2028. Development consultant Stone Sherick estimates the project will cost $23.5 million.

"Fairhill is a neighborhood on the precipice of intense gentrification with low incomes and old housing stock affecting livability and affordability for families," Lorissa Luciani, executive director of the Women's Community Revitalization Project, said in a statement. "Without intentional affordable construction, many households and families in Fairhill will be forced to move if they cannot afford rising housing costs."

The development, called the Nayda Cintron Apartments, is named after the community leader and founder of Xiente, formerly known as the Norris Square Community Alliance. The organization has worked to improve economic mobility through affordable housing, education and employment in struggling city neighborhoods since 1982.

WCRP said it chose the site for this project, because it sits in an area that has nearby amenities, including a library and several recreation centers.

Among the residents in the area who earn less than $50,000 annually, 94% spend more than one-third of their income on housing costs — which is 10% higher than the average Philadelphia resident earning the same income. Tenants who live in the new units will receive supportive services for health care, food, clothing and utilities.

The Nayda Cintron Apartments will be WCRP's 18th affordable housing project in Philadelphia. It has developed 369 units and has another 105 either planned or under construction. Others have been built in neighborhoods including Kensington, Port Richmond, Grays Ferry, Germantown and Point Breeze.

The state grant comes as Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker's $2 billion Housing Opportunities Made Easy project enters its first year. The Parker administration aims to create or preserve 30,000 units of affordable housing in Philadelphia over the next four years, including 13,500 new units.

Housing advocates and several City Council members have pushed for the first year of HOME funding to support the needs of Philadelphia's poorest residents before expanding to groups earning above the federal poverty line, which will land around $32,150 for a family of four next year. The city is expected to approve the first-year budget for the HOME program by the end of this year.