The Philadelphia Housing Authority (
PHA) recently announced their plans to sell the land of the former Liddonfield Homes public housing site in Upper Holmesburg to a private developer, ABS, in partnership with
Holy Family University. And then, in late July, they officially went through with these plans, moving the redevelopment of the 32-acre vacant site one step closer to reality.
This officially brings an end to the competitive proposal process that PHA initially issued last year. The RFP deadline came and went in January and since then, PHA has been going over bids and narrowing down their options, eventually landing on the ABS – Holy Family University proposal. In the end, ABS paid $4.2 million for the entire site. The final deal is still subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (
HUD).
"PHA is excited to take this first step and begin negotiating the details with the developer," said Estelle Richman, the one and only member of PHA’s Board of Commissioner. "It is a wonderful opportunity for the community."
ABS was formed specifically for the redevelopment of the site. Members of the group include
AP Construction, Inc., BSI Construction LLC and
Synterra, Ltd. Their winning proposal calls for athletic fields, student housing and affordable senior housing. Another interesting aspect of their proposal is their plan to offer upwards of $1 million in scholarships to PHA students at Holy Family University as well as spend over a half million on job opportunities for the city’s low income residents.
"ABS submitted a very compelling and competitive proposal,” said Kelvin Jeremiah, PHA's Interim Executive Director. “Under their plan, seniors will have affordable housing opportunities in the Far Northeast, PHA residents will have the opportunity to attend Holy Family and some of the city's neediest residents will be able to land jobs in a tough economy."
Not as well known across the region, Upper Northeast residents know the Liddonfield site well, and not for good reasons. Liddonfield was initially developed in the 1940s for military barracks purposes. In 1955, PHA acquired the site and put it to use by way of public housing.
But by the 1990s, the site had become synonymous with neglect, crime and was typically blamed for the deterioration of the surrounding area. That, coupled with a federal housing policy paradigm shift underway via HUD’s
Hope IV and
Choice Neighborhoods programs, Liddonfield quickly became seen as outdated and poorly designed. By the beginning of 2011, all of the site’s 58 buildings were demolished to make way for the new development, something ABS and Holy Family hopes to get underway as soon as possible. As of now, no official groundbreaking has been set.
Source: Estelle Richman, PHA Board of Commissioner; Kelvin Jeremiah, Philadelphia Housing Authority
Writer:
Greg Meckstroth