Brith Sholom House: Building will be gutted, repaired as residents must relocate
WEST PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Housing Authority says the conditions inside an apartment complex are so horrible that they must completely gut the place and the rehab work could take up to two years. Meanwhile, it also means the more than 111 people living there will have to relocate.
People who live in the Brith Sholom House Apartments in Wynnefield Heights found out they have until March to relocate. The PHA says, after conducting an assessment of the property, clearing the units and a gut rehab was the only option.
President and CEO of PHA, Kelvin A. Jeremiah, stated, "The building conditions, frankly, were far worse than we had imagined."
Some of the repairs to the 12-story, 360 unit building on Conshohocken Road include replacing the sewage, HVAC and electrical systems. The property also needs a new roof and the work is expected to take nearly two years to complete.
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Jeremiah continued, "I would say, candidly, I was shocked and appalled by the building conditions."
The rehab will cost about $112 million, more than double the anticipated budget and PHA has already spent about $1 million on urgent repairs. "I think there were a couple of voices concerned, ‘Oh my God, we have to move,’ but by the end of the meeting, I think we had the full support of residents," Jeremiah said.
Just three months ago, PHA purchased the apartment building for $24 million, after residents, many elderly and disabled, desperately pleaded for better living conditions.
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Resident Stanley Elam, stated, "My ceiling was leaking, the floors was buckling and I was here a year before they fixed anything." He added, "They wasn’t doing anything and they were collecting rent and wasn’t making any improvements or anything like that, so my wife and I were forced to leave."
PHA has paused rent payments until the relocation and they will help residents find new housing, hopefully in the same area.
"None of these residents are going to be going through this process alone – we are going to be holding their hands," Jeremiah explained. "This gonna be an individual assessment based on the needs of the residents."
PHA also says they will be covering all of the costs associated with moving and once the conditions improve, the residents have the right to return.