Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis in Philadelphia

Posted by on March 3, 2006

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Project H.O.M.E. is hosting two public forums on solving the affordable housing crisis. Please join us for these important gatherings. And please spread the word!

Making Our Way Home: Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis in Philadelphia

Despite the astonishing boom in real estate, Philadelphia faces a severe crisis in affordable housing. While high-end condominiums go up, tens of thousands of low- and moderate-income Philadelphians struggle to find a decent place to live at a manageable cost. The worst-case scenarios mean increased homelessness. For thousands of citizens and many neighborhoods, it means tremendous economic stress. These upcoming forums sponsored by Project H.O.M.E. will explore two dynamic initiatives to help solve the city?s affordable housing crisis.

PART ONE: Tax Abatements and Affordable Housing
Thursday, March 16 – 7:00 p.m.

Former City Housing Director John Kromer will present a creative proposal to link the city’s ten-year tax abatement policy (which provides a decade-long tax break on new and/or rehabbed homes) to new financing for affordable housing development, and will lead a panel discussion on the impacts of the abatement policy on affordable housing.

PART TWO: INCLUSIONARY ZONING
Thursday, April 20 – 7:00 p.m.

Members of the Philadelphia Affordable Housing Coalition will unveil their ambitious goal of ?inclusionary zoning.? This strategy links market-rate housing development to development of affordable units or ?fair-share? payments by developers to finance affordable units. We will learn about how inclusionary zoning has succeeded in other cities and how we can make it work in Philadelphia.

Both these events take place at Kate?s Place, 1929 Sansom Street. They are free.

For more information and to RSVP, contact Will O?Brien, Special Projects Coordinator, at 215-232-7272, ext. 3047 or willobrien@projecthome.org.