Save Affordable Housing!

At its April meeting the Garden Court Community Association Board voted to support the efforts of One PA West/Southwest Rising.

The following letter is from One PA West/Southwest Rising (edited slightly for clarification):

We are asking you to join us in a critical campaign to save affordable housing in West and Southwest Philadelphia.

Neighborhood Restorations is one of the largest providers of affordable housing in the neighborhood with 925 units housing 3,000 people. Neighborhood Associations is planning to sell its properties and in July 2025 sent a letter to its tenants, indicating that the properties would go on sale in a year. You can learn more about Neighborhood Restorations and see a map of the properties in this article from WHYY: https://whyy.org/articles/west-southwest-philadelphia-properties-sale/.    

If these properties were sold to a private developer, it could not only displace thousands of residents and eliminate a critical source of affordable housing but also raise housing prices for the whole neighborhood. That's why we are calling on city and state officials to work with the owner to keep these properties permanently affordable and to allow interested tenants to purchase their units at below market rates. 

Below is an open letter we will be sending to city and state officials. If you are a member of an organization that would like to sign on, please send the organization's name as it should be listed, contact person, phone, and email address to Eric Braxton at eric@onepa.org. Please reply as soon as possible.

In addition, here is an electronic petition that individuals can sign. Please forward this to your lists and feel free to post.

If you have any questions, need more information, or would like us to come and present to your organization, please let us know at eric@onepa.org. Over the next few months, we will be organizing several events to raise awareness about this issue and will share more details soon. Thank you for your support and we look forward to working together for the safe, healthy, affordable neighborhood we deserve.

Sign on Letter

As organizations and congregations representing residents of West and Southwest Philadelphia, we are writing this letter to call on city and state officials to address rapidly increasing housing costs and specifically to keep the Neighborhood Restorations properties permanently affordable. 

Skyrocketing housing costs are already displacing residents and threatening the fabric of our community. 40% of Black residents in West, South, and North Philadelphia have already been displaced due to rising housing costs since 2000. Seniors cannot afford massive increases in property taxes, working people must choose between rent and groceries, and the dream of homeownership is out of reach for regular Philadelphians. 

Neighborhood Restorations is one of the largest providers of affordable housing in West and Southwest Philadelphia with 925 units housing over 3,000 residents. In July, 2025 they sent a letter to tenants that would allow them to sell their properties in one year. The sale of these units to a private developer could displace thousands of residents from homes they have lived in for decades, eliminate one of the largest sources of affordable housing in the neighborhood, and further raise housing costs for all of us. 

We hereby call on city and state officials to work with the property owner to ensure the permanent affordability of the Neighborhood Restorations properties. We further ask that Neighborhood Restorations tenants be able to purchase their homes at below market rates. Preserving this vital source of affordable housing is a critical step in keeping our neighborhood affordable for the long-term residents who built this community,