Affordable housing contracts on the line | Real Estate Newsletter

Renters with low incomes often can’t count on having stable housing.

Across Philadelphia, government contracts for thousands of subsidized rentals are scheduled for either expiration or renewal over the next decade. The future of those homes and the people living in them is up to the owners of the properties.

The expiration of a federal subsidy contract for townhomes in West Philly and rising property values in the city that make selling subsidized properties attractive have pushed City Council to think about how to preserve affordable homes that are at risk.

Read on for that story and to see where Philly ranks among in-demand cities for apartments, find out where to go for gardening supplies across the region, and peek into a beloved 1860 farmhouse in Havertown.

📮 A squirrel once ate the tomato I was so proud of growing. What animals have you come up against in your garden? For a chance to be featured in my newsletter, email me your battle story.

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— Michaelle Bond

Last week, the city of Philadelphia and the owner of some subsidized townhouses in West Philly reached an agreement about the future of affordable housing at the site, which the owner plans to sell. The planned sale had spawned protests, City Council legislation, and a lawsuit against the city.

The owner agreed to transfer a piece of the site to the city for the development of at least 70 replacement affordable homes. But that means the current tenants still have to move out.

Subsidy contracts for more than 10,000 other housing units will be up for renewal across the city in the coming decade or so. The homes are often in neighborhoods full of amenities where the tenants can’t afford to pay full price for rent. Most residents of these at-risk units are Black.

One City Council member said that “the city must take a bolder and more proactive approach to affordable housing preservation” instead of reacting piecemeal to situations like the one in West Philly. Council is considering how to do that and has looked to other cities for inspiration.

Read on to see what two bills would do to try to keep tenants in affordable homes.

Philly ranks among the country’s most in-demand cities for households looking to rent apartments, according to a report this month by the nationwide apartment search website RentCafe.

The report looked at interactions on the platform and took into account saved searches, page views, and apartment availability rates to measure users’ engagement with Philadelphia rental listings.

Philly ranked 13th in the analysis of rental activity in the 150 largest cities in the country. In the Northeast, Philly ranked second, behind Manhattan.

The country’s top five most in-demand urban areas:

1) Atlanta

2) Kansas City, Mo.

3) Albuquerque, N.M.

4) Detroit

5) Manhattan

I have a few indoor plants that I’m mostly succeeding in keeping alive. But I’m still not over the squirrel that ate the plump red tomato I proudly grew on my apartment balcony a few homes back. (It was the only one that I was able to grow from the couple of plants a friend gave me. And it was beautiful.)

Because community gardens are so popular in Philadelphia, residents can stay on waiting lists for years before they’re able to join their local garden.

If you’re looking to start or care for your garden this season, we have some recommendations for the best shops to visit for soil, seeds, plants, and gardening supplies in Philadelphia, the collar counties, and South Jersey.

At these shops, you can find native plants, hanging plants, terrariums, trees, shrubs, flowers, edible plants, and houseplants. Some businesses offer deliveries or plant installations. You can buy outdoor furniture, fountains, ponds, and statues.

One Delaware County garden center even has a locally sourced seasonal restaurant.

Check out the shops my colleagues recommend.

When Rose Smith had to leave the home she’d loved for almost half a century to go live in a residence for seniors, she worried about the fate of her 1860 farmhouse in Havertown. She was afraid a developer would knock it down and replace it with several smaller homes.

Cut to spring 2020. For fun, Rob D’Alessio and Dana Hill went to visit the farmhouse, which Hill thought looked like a haunted house from the pictures on the real estate website.

But when they saw the home in person, they fell in love with it.

“It needed to be completely redone from the outside in, but I knew it had good bones, and so much history and character,” Hill said. “I collect vintage and antique pieces, but this was by far the biggest antique ‘piece’ I ever purchased.”

Renovations are ongoing. Hill and D’Alessio removed trees that hung over the roof, redid the circular driveway, and added an outdoor bar. They plan to open up the kitchen and reimagine the upstairs to add bedrooms.

Peek inside the home that has inspired loyalty and artwork.

Philadelphia has a long tradition of community gardening, including on vacant lots neighborhood residents have transformed. The activity became even more popular during the pandemic.

Question: About how many community gardens does the city have? This story has the answer.

Do you know the location this photo shows?

📮 If you think you do, email me back. You and your memories of visiting this spot might be featured in the newsletter.

I’m thankful that it seems the cold days are behind us. Trees are thriving, and signs have popped up around my neighborhood inviting passersby to visit open houses. We’re really in springtime now.

Enjoy the rest of your week.