Backers of an LGBT-friendly senior housing complex have revealed new plans to make the concept a reality in Philadelphia.
The Dr. Magnus Hirschfield Fund announced this week that it has secured a new site for the proposed residences — at 249-257 S. 13th St., in the lot next to the Parker Spruce Hotel.
The project was originally slated to adjoin the William Way LGBT Community Center on Spruce Street, but the center earlier this year backed out of the partnership after a funding delay that would have prolonged the process.
DmhFund and developer Pennrose Properties unveiled their proposal Wednesday during the first-ever national summit on LGBT aging issues at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The dmhFund’s William Way Senior Residences is set to cost approximately $19 million.
So far, organizers have secured $6 million in state funding through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program and $2 million from the city’s Office of House and Community Development.
The remaining $11 million is expected to be generated through private equity raised from the sale of state Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
The project was not selected for the credits earlier this year but organizers resubmitted an application in October, and awards will be announced in late spring.
“The tax-credit award is highly competitive,” said Jacob Fisher, development officer at Pennrose, who noted that of the nearly 100 applications last year, just about 30 were selected by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. “It’s an intense underwriting process they go through to make sure the deals they fund are ones that have all of their ducks in a row, all of their funds committed and everything resolved with the site to take the award forward and to proceed in an expeditious manner.”
Fisher said he is optimistic that this second application for dmhFund’s William Way Senior Residences stands a good chance at receiving the award.
“Our application this year meets the baseline criteria for an application the agency would look favorably at,” he said. “We’ve moved the site from last year and we have all the funding in place so I think we have a strong application. We won’t know until the agency makes its decision in April but we have high hopes.”
If the proposal is accepted, organizers will get to work on final architectural renderings and could break ground in January 2013.
The six-story building would be home to 56 one-bedroom units, 10 percent of which will be handicap-accessible. Additional units will be outfitted to accommodate those who are hearing or visually impaired.
The building is proposed in an L-shape that will allow for a 6,000-square-foot courtyard. Multipurpose spaces near the main entry were designed for use by residents and community members to promote intergenerational activities, and there will be 2,700 square feet of rentable space on the ground floor for retail or community-service agencies.
Residents must be 62 or older.
Per requirements of the tax credits, 10 percent of the units are reserved for those earning less than 20 percent of the area median income (AMI), which, for Philadelphia in fiscal year 2012, stands at $81,500. A portion of the apartments will be dedicated to those earning 40-50 percent of the AMI and another segment for those making 60 percent.
Mark Segal, president of dmhFund and PGN publisher, said the structure created by the use of the tax credits is reflective of affordable-housing setups utilized by other communities.
“We wanted to use the same mold that was used to build housing by African Americans or by the Jewish Federation or Catholics — but at the same time we’re breaking the mold because this is for the LGBT community,” Segal said. “The LGBT community deserves the same tax advantages that other communities receive. It’s about time LGBT elders get equality.”
Larry Felzer, dmhFund board member, noted that affordable LGBT senior housing is new to the aging discussion but can be integral to the safety and wellbeing of the older LGBT community.
“After struggling to come out of the closet, without the benefit of comfortable housing, many seniors are forced to go back into the closet when they move into senior housing or [enter a nursing home], he said. “Despite the perception that all LGBT individuals are wealthy, this is far from reality. Many LGBT individuals work in service and low-wage jobs for all of their lives and can’t afford expensive assisted-living retirement communities. The need for affordable senior LGBT housing is enormous and will grow as time passes.”
Segal commended the dmhFund board and the countless supporters who’ve helped move the project into its next phase.
“In my 42 years working in the community, I’ve never seen a board work so strongly and so quickly to get something done,” Segal said. “I am so overwhelmed by their willingness to dig in deep to what is a mountain of paperwork. And the mayor has come forward quickly to support this, and so have the state House and Senate, City Council — every political entity has really gone the extra mile.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].