Neighborhood Preservation Initiative - Meeting the Challenge

Many of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods were faced with challenges prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Too many households – 28% of homeowners and 49% of renters in Philadelphia – are cost burdened, paying at least 35% of their income towards housing; • Too many low-income homeowners did not have the funds to make the necessary repairs to allow them to stay in their homes; • Too many households were without sufficient income to even rent an apartment; and, • Too many disabled persons did not have the resources to make their homes accessible.

• Too many commercial corridors in need of improvement and vacant storefronts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created greater disparities and the City is well short of the resources we need to bridge this period of uncertainty, and what will certainly be a long-term recovery. We need to make sure all our citizens are housed in safe affordable housing, that our neighborhoods remain stable and improve and that all our neighborhoods are places that anyone would choose to live in.

Philadelphia is going to step up and meet this challenge. City Council proposes to capitalize revenue streams dedicated to support the issuance of $400 million in new bonds to kick start a city-wide Neighborhood Preservation Initiative.

The $400 million in bond proceeds will be distributed among various successful City affordable housing and commercial revitalization programs that will: • Build thousands of new affordable housing units.

• Create thousands of construction and permanent family sustaining jobs.

• Build a more inclusive construction workforce through job training and apprenticeships.

• Aggressively expand contracting opportunities for minority and women owned businesses.

• Preserve thousands of existing affordable rental units that could be lost without additional resources.

• Keep thousands of homeowners in their homes by providing home repair grants.

• Create homeownership opportunities for thousands of Philadelphians by providing down payment and closing costs assistance.

• Assist hundreds of disabled residents stay in their homes through adaptive modification grants.

• Strengthen hundreds of existing businesses and stimulate new business growth in our neighborhood commercial corridors.

• Develop strategies for making repairs and improvements to neighborhood infrastucture.

• Keep families in their rental units through eviction prevention and rental assistance programs.

• Make improvements to neighborhood infrastructure.

Over a four-year period, the investment in Philadelphia is anticipated to result in $2.5 billion of economic activity, while producing $71.7 million in local tax revenues in the first four years.

Photo credit: Cyclomedia

These proposed investments would support 14,771 direct, indirect and induced jobs with $765 million in wages in the City of Philadelphia in the first four years.

Photo credit: Cyclomedia

Photo credit: Cyclomedia

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