The city of Philadelphia and Community Ventures, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for Old First House, an affordable housing mixed-use development.
The project will redevelop an underutilized portion of the property of Old First Reformed United Church of Christ (UCC), Philadelphia’s fourth oldest congregation, for the homeless. A circa 1760 three-story building will be moved approximately 48 feet and renovated and restored.
The project will include a residential community room, 34 efficiency units ranging from 277 to 353 square feet, and 2,656 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
The church has sheltered 30-45 homeless men in its social hall during the coldest months of every year.
“We are at this point because Old First UCC invited Community Ventures here some seven years ago and asked us what we would propose to build on this site,” David La Fontaine, Community Ventures executive director, said. “We suggested that the plan be supportive housing as an extension of the work the church had been doing for over 30 years. This project has been made possible not just with the generosity of the Old First congregation but also with the very strong support from several other organizations, both public and private.”