A judge last week green-lighted a bidding war for land that had been slated as the site of an LGBT-friendly youth-housing facility.
Bids will be offered Aug. 11 for several parcels owned by North Philadelphia Health System. The system had been moving forward with the sale of two pieces of land adjacent to its now-defunct Girard Medical Center to Project HOME. The social-services agency planned to build 30 units of LGBT-friendly housing for young adults at 1315 N. Eighth St.
The groundbreaking had been slated for this past spring, but NPHS declared bankruptcy at the end of last year. Project HOME had pushed for the sale to continue, but last week the court gave permission for NPHS to seek higher bids in order to generate as much money as possible for its creditors.
A representative from Project HOME did not respond to a request for comment as of presstime, but a spokesperson for the organization told Philly.com it intended to make a bid at the Aug. 11 bankruptcy auction. Potential buyers will be able to bid on the land that had been intended for the youth-housing building, another parcel that Project HOME was going to develop for adults and youth and the hospital campus.
A Project HOME spokesperson told PGN in the spring that the agency had already spent about $700,000 on environmental consultants, engineers, architects and attorneys relating to the project. The organization has also lined up millions in city and state grants, tax credits and bond financing, which will only be viable if the sale is finalized by August.