Falls Ridge
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Description
HOPE VI Redevelopment

• Demolition of two 16-story towers
• New infrastructure
• 135 rental units in 30 buildings
• Commercial component
• 50-unit Senior Building
• Affordable for families and seniors
• Placed in Service in 2004

Developer
Pennrose Properties
Universal Community Homes

Architect
Urban Design Associates
Blackney Hayes Architect

General Contractor
Domus, Inc.
Philadelphia, PA

Management
Pennrose Management Company

The Challenge

When HUD built Schuylkill Falls in the 1950s the original concept was that the housing would provide temporary shelter for working people who had fallen on hard times. By the early 1970s, many families had become permanent residents, and public housing was known for its dehumanizing architecture, slipshod maintenance, and racial segregation. Historian John Bauman called Philadelphia's projects "publicly owned slums."    In 1975 alone, the twin towers of Schuylkill Falls hosted three murders, four rapes, and 159 robberies or assaults. "I'd go to work at Schuylkill Falls with a .38-caliber revolver in my belt and a big stick in my hand," recalled a former PHA maintenance supervisor, "the stick was for the German shepherds people kept tied to their doorknobs. The halls were covered with trash because the dogs would tear up the trash bags. We'd find bodies in the elevator shafts; the kids would play there, get stuck, and fall or get crushed." A year later the project was boarded up. It sat vacant until 1996 when the Philadelphia Housing Authority imploded the twin 16-story towers of Schuylkill Falls.   A year later PHA received a $26.4 million HOPE VI grant with which to construct for families and seniors new, safe, affordable rental and for-sale homes that would blend into the surrounding neighborhood and include a commercial component that would revitalize the community.  

The Solution

Leveraging the HOPE VI grant with LIHTC equity, CGDB funds, and other private monies, the Pennrose Development Team designed and delivered a New Urban community according to a well-conceived master plan.   The site required an all new infrastructure of roads, sidewalks, curbs, storm water systems, street lighting, underground utilities, and landscaping.   Phase I of the new Falls Ridge neighborhood is comprised of 135 rental homes. A senior building at the bottom of the hill features 50 one-bedroom apartments. The family units in attractive townhouse structures feature 50 two-bedroom and 45 three-bedroom well-designed homes with modern amenities. A strong social service program affords sustainability.

The Falls Ridge HOPE VI   project underscores the Pennrose team's expertise in producing mixed-finance developments that amazingly revitalize and transform communities.   Falls Ridge   is owned, managed, and maintained by Pennrose.

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