PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — If you come to the corner of North 55th and Poplar streets in West Philadelphia’s Haddington neighborhood, you'll see two vacant lots. You'll see debris, weeds, and other things in these lots.
But over the next few months, developers will work on putting more than 40 new affordable homes in the lots.
It’s part of a $400 million Neighborhood Preservation Initiative, a part that aims to build 1,000 affordable homes across the city.
City Council created the Turn the Key program back in 2020. It’s being touted as the largest development of affordable housing in Philadelphia’s history.
“Affordable housing is a priority of this City Council and [the Kenney] administration,” said Councilmember Curtis Jones.
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In addition to new home construction, this program will also help current homeowners with renovations to their property.
“It’s not enough to say I used to live in North Philly, I used to be from West Philly, but I don’t live there anymore because either I can’t afford to or I can’t find housing that fits my needs,” said Jones.
Council President Darrell Clarke said this initiative will bring more than $300 million in property value added to the tax base, and it will generate more than $511 million in economic activity generated from construction spending.
“Being able to have family wealth, being able to have equity in your home is so so important," said Clarke.
The mortgages on the three-bedroom houses will be about $1,200 per month, and will cost between $190,000 and $230,000.
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