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From YouTube: Council President Clarke Cuts the Ribbon on East Poplar Workforce Housing Units 5-24-2017
Description
Council President Darrell L. Clarke (5th District), Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Greg Heller, and representatives of BMK Properties on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 celebrated the completed construction of new Workforce Housing in the increasingly desirable East Poplar neighborhood in North Philadelphia.
BMK Properties, a subsidiary of The Riverwards Group, has redeveloped vacant City-owned land to construct 13 single-family homes that are affordable to moderate-income households. BMK Properties is one of several developers participating in City Council’s Workforce Housing Initiative, which seeks to expand affordable housing opportunities in gentrifying neighborhoods and spark new construction in “middle neighborhoods” struggling to attract investment.
More information: http://phlcouncil.com/new-workforce-housing-in-east-poplar/
A
My
name
is
Greg
Heller
I'm,
the
director
of
the
Philadelphia
Redevelopment
Authority
and
I
am
very
honored
to
be
here
this
morning.
What
we're
celebrating
here
today
is
much
more
than
the
construction
of
13,
beautiful
and
affordable
homes
for
our
community.
What
we're
celebrating
here
today
is
a
new
way
of
building
in
Philadelphia.
A
A
We
got
creative,
we
got
innovative,
we
thought
outside
the
box
and
we
said
we're
going
to
partner
with
private
developers
and
banks
who
share
our
mission
of
having
equitable
and
affordable
communities.
And
what
we're
going
to
do
is
that
my
agency
and
the
city
we're
going
to
sell
our
land
at
a
discounted
price
and
the
developers
and
the
banks
are
going
to
build
this
housing
and
we're
going
to
require
it
to
be
to
be
affordable,
long
term,
and
these
houses
here
are
going
to
be
affordable
for
up
to
30
years.
A
So
what
we're
celebrating
here
today
is
not
just
one
project
with
13
new,
affordable
homes
selling
at
under
$230,000,
but
we're
celebrating
a
new
way
of
building
in
Philadelphia
we're
in
every
neighborhood
of
choice
where
the
city
and
Redevelopment
Authority
have
land.
We
can
make
that
land
available,
eliminate
the
blight
in
our
neighborhoods
and
get
those
pieces
of
land
developed
with
that.
A
B
Good
morning,
everyone,
this
is
what
I'm
talking
about.
So
it's
great
Greg
laid
out
these
specifics
in
terms
of
the
details
of
the
program
and
the
financing
mechanism,
but
I
want
to
put
in
a
little
different
spin,
so
being
a
council
person
for
the
fifth
District,
you
end
up
representing
probably
the
most
diverse
district
in
the
state,
so
those
big
buildings
over
there
with
17
18
with
the
cranes
on
them,
called
the
Comcast
towers.
B
We
represent
those
right
and
then
Rittenhouse
Square
you
go
down
there
and
you
see
the
little
people
planting
the
dogs
in
it.
I'll
talk
them
out
right.
Well,
Sunday.
You
know
don't
whatever
right
some
expensive
real
estate
over
there
and
then
up
north
there's.
Some
challenges
right
now:
I'm
talking
about
some
challenges
up
there.
B
So
what
we've
done
over
the
years?
When
the
federal
government's
proof
will
we
build
a
lot
of
affordable
housing
in
some
of
these
neighborhoods?
Actually,
some
here
took
down
the
towers
over
the
Cambridge.
We
did
redid
Richard
Allen,
looks
really
nice,
but,
as
Greg
was
saying
that
money
is
dwindle
and
then
in
the
other
areas
like
the
end
of
the
corner,
where
those
properties
are
going,
what
six
six
fifty
I
don't
know
about
you
all,
but
I
can't
afford
to
litter
right,
but
in
the
middle
called
a
sweet,
stop
sweet
spot.
B
The
simple
reality
is
that
the
majority
to
people
that
live
in
the
city
of
Philadelphia
could
probably
afford
those
houses,
but
we
have
not
been
building
new
construction
that
meets
that
sweet
spot
being
able
to
take
advantage
of
the
10
year
tax
abatement,
new
amenities.
You
know
in
neighborhoods
of
choice,
so
we
put
our
heads
together
and
we
came
together
with
an
initiative
and
a
strategy,
and
we
call
it
workforce
housing
because
that's
what
it
is.
We
need
to
be
able
to
provide
an
opportunity
for
the
the
lady.
B
That's
a
police
officer
right
in
the
husband.
That's
a
nurse
you're.
All
y'all
like
the
way
I
flip
the
script
on
that
right
all
right,
but
the
reality
is
that
that
those
are
the
realities
of
our
city.
You
know
we
have
these
people
and
they
can't
afford
the
thing
on
the
corner
and
they
don't
qualify
because
they
make
a
little
too
much
money
for
the
affordable
housing.
So
exactly
so,
as
a
result
of
this
we're
able
to
address
the
needs
of
those
people
that
encompass
the
majority
of
the
individuals
living
in
our
city.
B
So
that's
why
I'm
excited
to
work
with
Greg
from
the
RTA,
all
the
other
individuals
from
the
city
agencies,
my
good
friends
from
vmk,
because
at
the
end
of
the
day
you
got
to
have
some
private
people
willing
to
jump
off
the
diving
board
and
say
I'm
gonna
try
this
right.
You
know
because
it's
challenging
to
get
people
to
first
get
engaged
with
the
city,
but
do
something
outside
of
the
box.
B
So
I
just
want
to
say
how
excited
I
am
today
to
be
in
a
position
to
talk
to
the
residents
and
say
that
we
have
delivered
a
product.
It's
going
to
be
available
to
your
daughters
and
your
sons
and
your
family
members
are
now
all
of
a
sudden.
Everybody
wants
to
live
in
North
Philly
right
now.
I'm
talking
about
I
know
you
get,
those
call
can
I
get
them
all
the
time
people
I
went
to
school
with,
and
man
can
you
hook
me
up
right
now?
B
You
come
down
here,
get
an
application
right,
but
this
is
the
place
of
choice,
but
we
want
to
make
sure
that
we
had
the
appropriate
product
down
in
this
neighborhood.
So
to
my
friends,
the
residents
of
the
communities
would
hope
held
it
together.
I
want
to
thank
you
all
I
want
to
thank
our
partners,
bmk
Meridian,
Bank
and
grape
from
the
RTA
and
all
of
the
people
guys
in
my
office
Jeremy,
but
they
Jeremy.
This
is
Jeremy's.
First
first
ribbon
cutting
your
first
ribbon.
Cutting
you'll
probably
be
asked
for
the
rest
of
the
day
off.
B
Is
it
boss?
I
took
heaven
I'm
out
here,
but
guys
I,
genuinely
I
just
want
to.
Thank
you
all
so
much
for
this
wonderful,
wonderful
event.
As
you
as
we
said,
we're
going
to
be
doing
a
whole
lot
more
I.
Think
Francisville
is
next.
Francisville
is
next,
so
those
of
you
are
interested
that
it,
you
know
Francisville
below
you
put
not
all
the
goods
I.
Just
want
thank
you,
I'm,
obviously,
I'm
pretty
excited
about
this,
but
I
just
want
to
thank
everybody.
Who's
participated
in
this
wonderful
program.
B
A
So,
as
I
mentioned,
when
you've
got
a
partnership
between
the
city
and
the
private
sector,
you
need
great
partners
who
are
willing
to
work
hard
and
figure
out
how
to
make
these
complicated
projects
happen,
and
we
had
a
great
partner
with
vmk.
So
at
this
time,
I
want
to
bring
up
the
the
builders
of
this
project,
Larry,
McKnight
and
Moe
Rushdie.
C
C
Part
of
our
mission
was
to
not
only
build
new
housing
in
the
city
of
Philadelphia,
but
also
to
Reve
iterate
and
revive
communities
that
were
once
strong
and
once
had
a
lot
of
strong
people
living
in
those
communities.
This
is
one
of
the
ways
that
we,
as
a
developer
and
builder,
give
back
to
the
community
I'm
the
son
of
a
police
officer,
the
son
of
a
teacher,
so
this
is
kind
of
my
homage
to
my
parents
and
to
future
generations
who
can't
afford
the
$700,000
houses
down
there.
C
I
myself
cannot
afford
I
would
love
to
buy
one
of
these
houses
but
globally
and
the
big
picture
a
result
of
council
president's
vision
and
also
the
RDA.
This
is
a
fruition
of
hard
work
and
people
come
together
and
private
and
public
sector
working
hand-in-hand.
There
were
little
hiccups
a
little
bumps
along
the
road,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day,
I
think
we
delivered
a
quality
product.
I.
C
D
Just
wanted
to
thank
some
people
from
behind
the
scenes,
wanted
to
thank
again
Susan
cannon
from
PRA
who
has
underwritten
every
agreement
that
we
have
sent
her
way.
She's
worked
very
hard
with
us
on
multiple
occasions.
To
make
this
happen
we
would
not
have
happened.
Had
that
happened
without
her
I
want
to
thank
Diane
as
well
from
the
proffer,
our
CEO,
yes
for
organizing
meetings
between
us
and
the
neighbors,
trying
to
understand
the
program
trying
to
facilitate
how
we
can
sell
these
homes
and
reach
more
of
the
people
of
the
neighborhood
and
she's
done.
D
A
great
job
with
us
and
I
would
definitely
want
to
thank
Meridian.
Bank
Meridian
Bank
has
been
standing
behind
BMK
behind
the
River
Ward's
group
on
all
these
projects.
For
the
last
five
to
seven
years,
they
made
this
happen
they've,
given
us
a
loan
to
build
all
these
homes
without
one
sale.
They
trust
us,
they
trust
our
judgment
and
they
have
stood
behind
us.
So
thank
you
very
much
Clarence,
yes
and
finally,
I
wanted
to
introduce
Sarah,
riester
I'm
she's,
the
homeowner
future
homeowner
of
950
Marshall
Street.
She
is,
she
works
in
Center
City.
D
She
takes
transportation
to
her
work
she's
a
perfect
example
of
the
buyer
that
really
wants
to
buy
a
new
construction
home
in
these
neighborhoods
and
feel
that
they
are
caught
in
the
middle
between
the
five
to
seven
hundred
thousand
dollar
homes
or
retails
or
high-priced
rentals.
This
950,
Marshall
Street,
is,
is
going
to
be
our
new
home,
so
I
wanted
to
introduce
her.
E
D
F
Good
morning,
this
is
an
exciting
day.
It's
a
dream
come
true,
and
we
want
to
thank
councilman
Clark
for
his
vision
for
his
concern
about
the
community.
So
we
can
keep
people
here
and
not
relocate
them
out
and
I.
First
of
all,
ins
acknowledge
our
Ward
leader,
Arthur
green
14-foot.
For
those
who
may
not
know
me,
I
am
a
committee
person,
but
also
the
14th.
F
We
want
to
thank
the
content
developer,
the
contractor,
who
has
been
very
patient,
who
had
been
and
also
means
a
little.
You
know
tweaks
to
the
original
plans
that
first
came
out.
We
want
to
thank
him
and
also
thank
councilman
Clark
for
allowing
the
RCO
the
14th
would
RCL
that
opportunity
to
be
one
of
the
first
to
see
this
project
come
through
and
we
hope
to
see
more
of
these
type
projects.
Thank
you
again.