A Point Breeze Apartment Complex Has New Owner and an Affordable-Housing Mission
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A ribbon-cutting held today in Philadelphia's Point Breeze neighborhood represented a victory for advocates of affordable housing in the face of gentrification.
City officials and developers cut the ribbon on Tasker Village, twenty-eight apartments that rent for $500 to $900 each, in the heart of what one realty group has called "the city's hottest neighborhood," with steeply climbing property values.
"We need development at all levels and all scales, but the most important area, really, is affordable housing," said Mayor Nutter, one of the speakers.
A private developer built Tasker Village in 1995, using tax credits, but wanted to sell when the credits expired. So, a nonprofit, Diversified Community Services, took it on.
DCS executive director Otis Bullock (far left in photo) says it was a new role for the organization, but necessary.
"Folks were really worried that a nice complex like Tasker Village, that used to be affordable, might become high-end condos," he told KYW Newsradio.
Diversified Community Services secured new tax credits to pay for a $3½-million renovation that allows it to continue renting to low-income tenants.