<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2HddO2_1Gp8zfz600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2HddO2_1Gp8zfz600" width="768" height="432" ><figcaption>A rendering of an apartment building at 2012 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia (JKRP Architects)</figcaption></figure>Have a question about Philly’s neighborhoods or the systems that shape them? PlanPhilly reporters want to hear from you! <a href="https://whyy.org/articles/center-city-apartments-philadelphia-housing-authority/#Section1">Ask us a question or send us a story idea you think we should cover.</a>After a decade of planning, construction is underway on a 121-unit apartment building in Center City that will bring a mix of market-rate and affordable rentals to the neighborhood. The 14-story project at 2012 Chestnut St. is a collaboration between Alterra Property Group and the Philadelphia Housing Authority. PHA will own the property. Alterra is the design-builder and will manage the development. The homes will be the authority’s first in Center City, an area that has historically been unaffordable and inaccessible to public housing residents. “This development represents our opportunity to create and have a balanced community, and to have folks who want to live in Center City, live in Center City,” PHA President Kelvin Jeremiah said. “Too often, our programs have been relegated to some of the least desirable locations.” The $62.5 million project will sit on the site of PHA’s former headquarters, a short walk from Rittenhouse Square and the Schuylkill River Trail. Designed by JKRP Architects, the building will be 60% affordable and 40% market-rate, and have 28 studios and 68 one-bedroom and 25 two-bedroom units. There will also be about 2,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space. The affordable units will be subsidized and go to households earning up to 60% of the area median income. That translates to $51,540 a year for an individual. Mark Cartella, principal at Alterra, called the development a “flagship” property. “We do hope that this can be something that can hopefully be replicated, not only in Center City but in other parts of the city,” Cartella said. <h2>A decade of changing plans</h2>This is technically the third iteration of this development. An initial project concept called for Alterra to build a 200-unit property that was 80% market-rate and 20% affordable. The most recent version saw the same affordability split with 162 units. Under that deal, Alterra was set to take on financing, construction and managing the completed building under a long-term agreement with PHA, known as a ground lease. “That fundamentally changed post-COVID,” Cartella said. “All the numbers changed,” Jeremiah said. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, builders faced hyperinflation, breakdowns in the supply chain for construction materials and a more risk-averse lending landscape. All of it forced PHA to reevaluate its plans for Chestnut Street, causing the project to be delayed. Securing approvals from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also took time, in part because of staffing cuts at the federal agency, Jeremiah has said. Under the current deal, Alterra is building on behalf of PHA and will no longer be financing the project or holding a ground lease, Cartella said. The development will instead be entirely funded and operated by the housing authority. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Friday. Alterra expects vertical construction to start in the coming months and leasing to begin during the second quarter of 2028. Nathaniel Margolies, president of the Center City Residents Association, a civic group whose boundaries include the project site, is looking forward to that day. PHA’s old headquarters was demolished around 2024, leaving a large vacant lot along a busy stretch of Chestnut Street. “There’s nothing better for safety and the liveliness of a neighborhood than adding residents who care about their block and want to make it their own,” Margolies said. “So we are enthusiastic for people to be living there, working there, playing there, in what was previously an empty space.” WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please <a href="https://whyy.org/support-our-journalism">give today.</a></div></body>

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Have a question about Philly’s neighborhoods or the systems that shape them? PlanPhilly reporters want to hear from you! Ask us a question or send us a story idea you think we should cover. After a decade of planning, construction is underway on a 121-unit apartment building in Center...

Philadelphia Housing Authority’s first Center City apartments are finally moving forward

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Have a question about Philly’s neighborhoods or the systems that shape them? PlanPhilly reporters want to hear from you! Ask us a question or send us a sto

Philadelphia Housing Authority’s first Center City apartments are finally moving forward

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