Philadelphia Gets $30M for Neighborhood Near Temple
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $120 million in grants to four cities, including Philadelphia. The city will get $30 million from HUD for improvements to the neighborhood near Temple University. Philly plans to put that money toward creating 300 new or renovated housing units in North Central Philadelphia.
“This is an exciting day for the residents of the North Central neighborhood and the entire City of Philadelphia,” Mayor Nutter said in a statement. “This grant is critical to our comprehensive revitalization strategy — it will help us to address many of the serious challenges facing this community: poverty, unemployment, poor educational attainment and decreased opportunities for residents.”
The city says it will turn that $30 million into $125 million in extra federal, state, city and private investment in the area from Cecil B. Moore to York Street east of North Broad. Near the existing PHA Norris Apartments site, the city says, 168 housing units will be rehabbed.
The city says it worked with “more than 40” different community partners to develop this plan. Three other cities got grants similar to Philadelphia’s: Columbus, Ohio; Norwalk, Conn.; and Pittsburgh. (For some reason, Columbus got $300,000 less.) The city’s plan for North Central also includes neighborhood and city service improvements for residents.
