Center City Affordable Tower Clears Final Approvals After 11-Year Wait

PHILADELPHIA — After nearly 11 years of redesigns and delays, a mixed-income apartment tower at 2012 Chestnut St. in Center City has cleared its final approvals and is set to begin construction, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The 14-story project is a collaboration between the Philadelphia Housing Authority and Alterra Property Group. When completed it will hold 121 apartments, with 30 two-bedrooms, 63 one-bedrooms and 28 studios, plus 2,000 square feet of commercial space. It will be PHA’s only housing development in Center City.

The income-restricted units are aimed at households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income, which the Inquirer pegged at $78,500 for a two-person household. PHA will hold a 99-year ground lease on the property while Alterra develops and manages the building.

The delays stretched into early 2026. Federal housing officials tied up the project in asset-disposition, environmental and historic reviews, and staffing cuts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development compounded the bureaucratic hurdles, according to the Inquirer.

The price tag kept climbing in the meantime. Total project cost has reached $65 million, up $5 million on higher construction costs, tariffs and supply-chain volatility affecting steel, elevators and other equipment.

The tower will rise on the former site of PHA’s Center City headquarters, which was demolished 18 years ago. For a neighborhood where new affordable housing is scarce, officials say the long wait is finally ending.