A major effort is underway to save nearly 1,000 affordable rental units in West and Southwest Philadelphia from being sold to for-profit developers.

The properties are owned by Neighborhood Restorations, which manages 925 units integrated into residential blocks across the Haddington, Mantua, Cobbs Creek, and Kingsessing neighborhoods. In July 2025, the company issued a notice of intent to sell — a move that could displace thousands as early as this July, according to a WHYY News report.

The potential sale poses a dual threat to the neighborhood’s stability: mass displacement and rising costs. The Stoneleigh Foundation estimates that at least 3,000 residents are at risk if these units convert to market-rate housing. A Reinvestment Fund study previously noted that this “scattered-site” model has been vital for neighborhood revitalization; losing them could drive up rents across the entire area.

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Westpark Apartment towers (Photo by West Philly Local)

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) broke ground yesterday on the first phase of the redevelopment of Westpark Apartments, the high rise public housing complex near 45th and Market.

The public-private effort between PHA and developers LMXD and MSquared will include 327 new units and will be developed across three buildings north of Market Street between Powelton Avenue and 46th Street during the first phase of the project. Nearly 140 units will be reserved for returning Westpark residents and 190 will be affordable to households earning between 20 and 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). The project will also include infrastructure development to reintegrate the site back into the city’s street grid, linking the campus for the first time to public transit and the broader neighborhood.

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The new apartment building at 818 N. 40th Street (see Instagram video below).

HopePHL and Mt. Vernon Manor Community Development Corporation (MVMCDC), two West Philadelphia community organizations, today celebrated the grand opening of 40 new apartments along the North 40th Street corridor — a milestone development that transformed 11 long‑vacant properties between Lancaster and Mantua Avenues into long‑term affordable rental homes for local families.

The North 40th Street Corridor Revitalization Project brings new life to a once‑blighted stretch of West Philadelphia at the borders of the Mantua, Belmont and East Parkside neighborhoods. The initiative represents a first‑of‑its‑kind partnership between HopePHL and MVMCDC.

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The Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) has recently broken ground on its newest affordable housing development, the Linda Lockman King apartments. The four-story multifamily building will replace an empty lot at 5500 Haverford Ave. and will offer 33 affordable rental units to low-income Philadelphians.

The new apartment building will consist of four one-bedroom apartments, 19 two-bedroom apartments, and 10 three-bedroom apartments, all with in-unit laundry and air conditioning. Nine units will be wheelchair accessible, and 23 units will be supported by the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA).

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First-time owner Raphael Freeman was welcomed to his property, freshly rehabbed by Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia. “It’s good to come home to 19139,” he said. (Photos by Tony West)

Born in the Mill Creek neighborhood, Raphael Freeman is a worker at Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania. On June 18, affordable home ownership became a reality for himself when Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia gave him the deed to a vacant Overbrook rowhome next to Cobbs Creek that its apprentice program had restored to modern standards.

Freeman underwent a yearlong training program to provide him with the knowledge base and skills to manage property ownership. Meanwhile, Habitat’s Carpentry Fellows Program set three apprentices to learn the art of rehabbing Philadelphia’s traditional affordable housing stock.

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Architect renderings of the project (PZS Architects) on the 4700 block of Spruce Street.

UPDATE (6/19/25): The Department of Licenses and Inspections has ordered work at the site to stop until the developer obtains a building permit. The developer has until July 10 to obtain the permit, according to an “Order to Correct” issued June 6.

6/9/25: Demolition work has begun to make way for a 13-story apartment building with ground floor retail space on the 4700 block of Spruce Street, across from the Henry Lea School. The building will include 170 mostly studio and one-bedroom apartments and 28 underground parking spaces.

Zoned CMX-3, which allows residential and commercial uses without zoning variances, the project drew criticism during a May 2022 community meeting but developers were not required to implement design changes because of the zoning designation. The project has been on hold while an addition was being completed to the adjacent Garden Court Plaza complex.

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