Vacant, Dilapidated Homes In Mantua Renovated Into Affordable Apartments
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Neighbors see a new beginning at the Mt. Vernon Manor apartments in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday at 34th and Wallace Streets.
The $13-million development is the next step to revitalize and stabilize the Mantua community by renovating formerly vacant, dilapidated buildings, according to Michael Thorpe, Executive Director of the Mt. Vernon Manor CDC.
"It creates an opportunity for people, as the neighborhood is changing, to be able to stay inside of the community with which they've been connected to for years," Thorpe said.
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Mt. Vernon Manor Phase 2 is 46 affordable rental apartments, subsidized by federal and state funding.
"We have 39 tenants that have moved in," Thorpe explained, "and we have another seven that are in the queue, awaiting the approval process by the PHA."
The Philadelphia Housing Authority is providing vouchers for 15 qualifying units.
In 2013, another crumbling complex of buildings, including 75 units near 33rd and Wallace Streets, was renovated in a similar fashion, in Phase 1 of the $18-million Mt Vernon Manor project.