(Philadelphia,PA - December 15, 2015) - The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) marked the opening of the new Queen Lane Apartments with a special ceremony today in the city's historic Germantown neighborhood.

The grand opening on the 300 block of West Queen Lane celebrated the transformationof the former high-rise site. The $22 million development contains 55 affordable rental units in a mix of modern, efficient, two-story flats, walk-up apartments, and three-story townhouses. The redeveloped site also features green space that was once a Potter's Field. The new Queen Lane Apartments also contains a community room and a management office with meeting rooms, all of which are handicapped-accessible.

"This new development represents affordable housing at its best, and highlights the great things that can happen when we work together towards common goals.  PHA has worked diligently with the Germantown community to provide affordable housing at Queen Lane," said PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah.  "This development is the reward of many years of hard work and I would like to thank all of the residents, Secretary Julian Castro and his staff, Brian Hudson of PHFA and his staff, Mayor Michael Nutter,  the City Council, and especially Councilwoman Cindy Bass, who has been a partner and steadfast supporter in making Queen Lane Apartments a reality.  We know that these new apartments will add value to the community and spark others to reinvest in Germantown as well."

"I want to thank Mayor Nutter, Council President Clarke, and PHA CEO Kelvin Jeremiah for their steadfast support for this development from the beginning to the end. I especially want to thank the dedicated residents of this community who remained committed through this entire process. These new homes are a great addition which will hopefully spark even more reinvestment in this historic neighborhood," said Councilwoman Cindy Bass.

The new development covers the entire square block bordered by Penn Street on the north, Queen Lane on the south, Priscilla Street on the west, and Pulaski Avenue on the east.  As additional replacement housing, PHA acquired Queen's Row Apartments, located nearby in the 500 block of west Queen Lane, and has been rehabilitating the 29-unit site.

The new Queen Lane development resulted in a significant number of Section 3 job opportunities for low and very low-income people in the community. Of the new hires for the construction of this development, 72 percent were Section 3 residents. And of that group, 30 percent were from the Queen Lane Community. In raw numbers, there were 88 new hires of whom 63 are Section 3 residents, and 19 of those Section 3 hires are from the Queen Lane Community.

A Potter's Field, which fronts the redeveloped site, will be maintained as open space, with a historic marker.  PHA signed a "Programmatic Agreement" that protects the site with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. A number of other neighborhood groups are also signatories to the agreement.

The new Queen Lane is located near the Germantown Avenue retail district and is easily accessible to a variety of educational and transportation services, including SEPTA bus routes and the Queen Lane Regional Rail station.