Chatham Estates
Chester, Pennsylvania

Leasing Information

Description

• 2-story 40-unit residence for seniors
• Part of a 150-unit mixed- income   HOPE VI development
• Replaced crime-ridden 1940's project
• Mixed-finance funding

Developer
Pennrose Properties

Architect
Torti Gallas Partners, Inc.
Silver Spring, MD

General Contractor
Domus, Inc.
Philadelphia, PA

Management
Pennrose Management Co.

The Challenge

Groundbreaking exercises held on August 2, 1940 at Lamokin Village were heralded in the press as a landmark undertaking of the Chester Housing Authority in its "slum clearance campaign."   The Village of 350 units in 38 barrack-style buildings was developed for low-income families.   Urban decay progressively overtook the community to such a degree that in 1996 The Housing and Urban Development awarded   the Chester Housing Authority a $15 million   HOPE VI   grant to demolish the crime-ridden near-vacant-housing stock to integrate it into the community at large, to attract a more economically diverse tenancy, and to provide human services and economic development.   Pennrose was entrusted with the Senior Citizen component of the proposed revitalized community.

The Solution

Pennrose developed a state-of the-art 40-unit Senior Citizen residence under HUD's new "Mixed-Finance" Interim Rules for public housing.   This mixed-finance rule allows Public Housing Authorities to (1) permit development of projects that include non-public housing rates in addition to public housing units; (2) to enter into partnership arrangements with non-profit and private developers to own mixed-finance developments; and (3) to transfer operating and capital subsidies to such properties.   Pennrose was able to apply this rule for CHA's benefit.   Today, Chatham Estates Senior Village is a central component of a revitalized mixed-income neighborhood community, transforming the city of Chester.

This mixed-finance project underscores the development team's expertise in delivering on-time, on-budget quality buildings for senior citizens, utilizing every financial resource at our disposal.   Chatham Estates was opened for residency in 1999 and is owned and managed by Pennrose.