PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Sharswood is no longer a food desert.
The sprawling new North Philadelphia community of affordable homes and rentals is still under development, but a key component that residents demanded is now here: The neighborhood is getting its first chain grocery store in almost 60 years.
“This is a supermarket grocery outlet that is being owned and operated by an African American young man from this very community,” said Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) President Kelvin Jeremiah. “He grew up here; his parents lived in public housing.”
At just 28 years old, Donta Rose is the owner of the new Grocery Outlet in Sharswood Commons and he has hired many people from the neighborhood.
The store, located right across from PHA headquarters, is actually just the beginning for the $52 million shopping complex.
“The commercial corridor that we’re building … will include a bank, an urgent care center. It will include a barbecue joint,” Jeremiah said.
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PHA received a federal grant to revitalize the area in 2013, which was neglected after the riots along Ridge Avenue in the ’60s. Jeremiah said there hasn’t been any meaningful public investment in the neighborhood since then.
Throughout the process, he said PHA listened to voices from the community and learned that quality of life is a big priority.
“It’s the residents that are driving this mission, who were driving us to make promises back in 2014 and 2015,” Jeremiah added. “Today, they are realizing that we are keeping those promises.”
The Sharswood Commons housing community is set to be completed next year.
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