Philadelphia housing crisis: Mayor Parker, city leaders break ground on affordable housing initiative
GRAYS FERRY - With shovels in their hands and smiles on their faces, Mayor Parker, the City Council President, developers and bankers broke ground Tuesday on a future site of affordable housing in a city desperate for it.
Sources with knowledge of the housing crisis say Philadelphia needs at least 60,000 affordable housing units right now. Mayor Parker in an interview with FOX 29’s Jeff Cole said, "There are people, working people, employed people, in the city of Philadelphia who cannot afford to own their own home."
And many can’t afford to rent one either. Once considered an affordable place to buy or rent a home, housing costs in Philadelphia are steadily rising, say those who study the issue, while the city’s stubbornly large poverty rate, the highest of the nation’s big cities, remains constant.
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The Philadelphia Housing Authority, known as the PHA, provides affordable housing for low-income city residents. PHA houses more than 45,000 people with a staggering 61,000 on its waiting list. City Council President Kenyatta Johnson believes housing is a great equalizer in the city of Philadelphia.
There were big smiles everywhere at the city’s Turn the Key event Tuesday. Under Turn the Key, Philly provides the land while local banks and minority developers build affordable housing.
Speaking at the event Tuesday, Johnson said, "This gives individuals an opportunity to become first-time home buyers and also to build generational wealth for their families."
Mayor Parker is all-in on the problem. She’s pledged building 30,000 affordable housing units, and she said she wants that in her first term. She said, "People elected me for four years. In four years, we’ll do our best to reach that 30,000 goal."