120 affordable senior apartments are proposed for land zoned for rowhouses in North Philly

A six-story, 120-unit senior apartment building is proposed for 22nd and Diamond Streets in North Philadelphia, with over half the units designated as affordable.

The land is zoned for multifamily rowhouse development, so the plan will need four variances from the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment to move forward.

The developer, TPP Capital Holdings of Philadelphia, argues that it needs density and height beyond what the underlying zoning allows to ensure more affordable rents.

“As we proposed it originally on this site, by right, we could do 51 units,” said Anthony Miles, principal with TPP. “We needed the density … the sole purpose was so that we can make their rent affordable.”

Slightly more than half of the units will be rented at 80% of area median income, which is over $63,000 for a one-person household. The rest of the units would be at 100% of area median income, or $79,000 for a one-person household.

Area median income is based on the metropolitan area and is calculated by tallying many jurisdictions beyond the city of Philadelphia. The median household income in the project’s zip code is $29,691, according to the most recent Census data, with 22% of the population making between $50,000 and $100,000.

Miles said that TPP, which is a Black-owned social impact developer, has met with neighborhood groups, and they are generally supportive. One local Democratic ward leader who is involved in community activism, Lewis Nash, said he personally backs the project.

“Anything you are building is something that we definitely need because the seniors need more housing, and it will give them better living quarters,” said Nash, who runs the MAP Holistic CDC.

The project will not tap affordable-housing programs like Low-Income Housing Tax Credits but instead will be backed by a loan product from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (better known as Freddie Mac).

The project includes 10,587 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. Miles said that at a meeting with the community, neighbors had seemed most excited by a proposal about a small business development center.

“We was toying around with some healthy food-related [uses], but we didn’t want to come into the process with it all wrapped up in a bow,” Miles said. “We wanted to have the community engaged in it. If you come into it already having an idea of what’s going into it, you get pushback.”

The project includes nine parking spaces, a garden terrace, a courtyard, and a green roof. Miles described it as a transit-oriented development, with access to multiple bus routes and the Broad Street Line (although the closest stop is a 20-minute walk).

According to Miles, the project already has a waiting list of 300 people. He noted that those who have signed up include workers from the city’s health and sanitation departments.

“We see a bigger opportunity to do more projects beyond this,” Miles said. “That was one thing that the community really was open with us about is continuing to work with us on other projects on city-owned land in the surrounding vicinity.”