Mount Vernon Manor

Reinvestment Fund financing is supporting the substantial rehabilitation of Mount Vernon Manor, 46 units of Low Income Housing Tax Credit rental apartments in three buildings in Philadelphia’s federal Promise Zone that have been vacant and uninhabitable since 2013.

This is the second phase of the Mount Vernon Manor project; the first phase consisted of 75 units and is currently 100% occupied. The buildings in the second phase, originally constructed in 1978, will undergo gut rehabilitation to replace all systems, reconfigure interior layouts to provide more open living space and add community space, and will result in modern, energy-efficient and affordable 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments. In addition to bringing these vacant buildings back to use, the project will preserve affordability for the long term in a neighborhood adjacent to Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania, where rents are rising.

Mt. Vernon Manor was originally built using HUD 236 funding. Over time, the building deteriorated into a low-quality, drug infested complex in a then struggling section of West Philadelphia. In the late 2000s, a new board started to chart a path for redevelopment, and in 2010, the organization was awarded a HUD Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant covering the Mantua neighborhood. The redevelopment of Mt. Vernon Manor is the centerpiece of the neighborhood plan produced using HUD grant funds. This second phase will complete the redevelopment of the complex.

The project is a partnership of experienced affordable housing developers. Collectively, the partners have developed and built over 1,400 homes, the majority of which are affordable housing for clients such as Project HOME, Neighborhood Restorations, West Philadelphia Real Estate, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.