August 4-10, 2005

cityspace

Un-Poplar Project

by Alex Dubilet

In 1999, the West Poplar community was eagerly awaiting the Alphonso Deal Housing Development, an affordable housing project of 138 new or rehabbed residential units in the moderate range of $47,000 to $108,000. Named after a local civil rights leader, the development would have stabilized the community and allowed many current and former residents to become homeowners. The wait list grew to more than 2,000 people.

But six years and a real estate boom later, the subsidies have dried up and now the community faces a different proposition: market-rate private development. Projected prices for Alphonso Deal properties now begin at $295,000, and that is causing some concern.

The developer, New Urban Ventures, plans to build 53 row homes and 20 condos across four plots around the 600 block of North 10th and 11th streets and in the 1000 block of Mt. Vernon Street. It even agreed to sell seven of the row homes for $150,000 each. But that is too expensive for most of the community, says the Rev. Matthew Hudson, pastor of the neighboring St. Paul's Baptist Church.

You can't look just at the sale price, says Lawrence Rust of New Urban Ventures. "A family can live in this house for under $700 a month and that includes taxes and the mortgage. That's pretty exceptional," says Rust.

But affordability is only part of the concern. A key issue is parking, especially for St. Paul's, which sits across from the slated development on 10th Street. The church has been a community staple for more than a century, but it will be in a bind if accommodations aren't made.

"I don't know how better to do our design," says Rust. "We have not impacted parking on the street at all and have made an arrangement for them to have an additional 53 parking spaces."

Everyone agrees the land is ripe for development. Right now it's mainly vacant lots of grass. A modern brick-and-glass design, Rust says, may create a more walkable neighborhood.

Councilman Darrell Clarke has assuaged at least one critical concern regarding the possible increase of property taxes for the elderly in the community. Clarke pointed out that Philly law already protects senior citizens with income under $14,500 against rising property taxes. With a recent amendment, that income ceiling will soon rise to $23,500.

Clarke has been bringing the two sides together, but there's still no agreement. Roughly two dozen community members showed up at a recent city Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing on the issue. The property is still owned by the Redevelopment Authority, and Clarke said he will not go ahead with a sale of the land until he feels comfortable that the community's concerns have been addressed.