Philadelphia’s proposed LGBT senior-housing program saw a setback last week as the William Way LGBT Community Center withdrew its partnership from the initiative.
The center’s board of directors voted unanimously Aug. 9 to drop out of the project, which sought to offer affordable residences for older adults in a building attached to William Way.
The Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld Fund, which is spearheading the project along with development company Pennrose Properties, plans to seek another location for the residences.
“The dmhFund has been exploring other locations for the senior-housing facility and intends to move forward with the project at another site,” said DMH president and PGN publisher Mark Segal.
Earlier this summer, the proposal did not make the list of initiatives slated to receive state tax credits, a major source of funding for the $20-million project.
Applicants typically have to submit their proposals several times before making the cut; applications for next year’s funding are due in October.
However, the center board did not feel the improvements to the building that were slated to accompany the construction of the senior residences could be delayed to accommodate the adjusted time frame.
The proposed agreement would have provided about $6 million in renovations to the community center, including a $2.6-million full rehab to the front portion of the building.
The project would have provided 3,000 additional square footage to the center, including an expanded ballroom, new catering kitchen, a courtyard and a new library and archive space.
“The William Way LGBT Community Center has worked in good faith over the last year to complete its due diligence for this very important project,” said Jeff Sotland, co-chair of the center’s board of directors. “We continue to support the project, but our organizational priorities and the immediate needs of the center do not allow us to postpone our strategic planning or the renovation of the center for another year.”
William Way executive director Chris Bartlett noted the center must make immediate repairs to fix leaks and its HVAC system, areas of the building that would have been rehabbed under the proposed construction plan.
Going forward with the senior project could also raise questions among potential donors about why they should support a capital campaign for renovations, Bartlett said, given the pending project.
Segal said DMH “understands the need of the William Way Center to move forward with its strategic-planning process and respects the board of directors’ decision to end its involvement as a partner in the LGBT-friendly senior housing project.”
The tax-credit reapplication will still be submitted to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency in October, Segal said.
As the plans for the senior-housing facility moved forward in the past year, Bartlett noted that the center completed an analysis of the renovations needed for the building, valued the real estate and recently launched a plan to “target resources for significant improvements to the center’s facility.”
“The past year’s work has had significant benefits for the center, and we will build upon these accomplishments,” Bartlett said. “We thank the many friends of the center who helped us in this process, and we are committed to delivering on our plan for a renovated center to meet the needs of our growing community.”
Bartlett added that the center continues to support the concept of LGBT-friendly senior residences and will partner to provide services to tenants when such a structure is created.
“Though the timeline and resources of the project did not allow this housing to be built at 1315 Spruce as we had hoped, we know that when LGBT senior housing is built, it will be closely allied with the senior programs of the William Way,” he said.
Segal said DMH is looking forward to working with the center on senior services and will support William Way as it embarks on a capital-fundraising campaign.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].