PHA joins with Mosaic Development and SHIFT Capital to Break Ground on Sharswood Ridge

From left to right Congressman Dwight
Evans,Former Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, Council President
Darrell L. Clarke, State Senator Sharif Street, Darnetta Arce,
Executive Director, Brewerytown Sharswood NAC, Leslie
Smallwood-Lews, Managing Partner, Mosaic Development Partners, LLP,
State Rep. Donna Bullock, Rev. William Brawner, Mother African Zoar
United Methodist Church, Doug Schaeffer, Executive Vice President,
Woodforest National Bank David Gould, Chief Diversity and Impact
Officer, 76ers, and Jeanne Fields, Vice President, Fulton Bank,
State Senator Sharif Street

Sharswood Ridge
Rendering
Media
Contact:
Nichole Tillman, 215-888-2869 Nichole.Tillman@pha.phila.gov
$52 million design
includes 98 mixed-income rental units, supermarket, bank,
restaurant and healthcare
(Philadelphia - October 14, 2020)- The Philadelphia Housing
Authority (PHA) in partnership with Mosaic Development Partners and
SHIFT Capital, today broke ground on Sharswood Ridge, a 234,000
square foot mixed-use development that will deliver housing and
neighborhood retail to North Philadelphia's Sharswood commercial
corridor. The development will advance the priorities of PHA's
ongoing Sharswood/Blumberg Choice Neighborhood Initiative, which
was designed to elevate the quality of life for local residents
through improved housing, neighborhood conditions and career
opportunities.
Sharswood Ridge will be located at 2077 Ridge Avenue in
Sharswood, among the city's most distressed communities. The site
will provide 98 mixed-income rental units, with almost half (46
percent) of the homes reserved as below-market rate housing, and
over 45,000 square feet of retail including Grocery Outlet, a
discount supermarket chain, Everest Urgent Care, Santander Bank,
and a Wingstop restaurant.
The $52 million project will be delivered through an
unprecedented public private partnership, financed by innovative
federal, state, local and private investment. Financing includes
PHA loans, New Market Tax Credits, Redevelopment Assistance Capital
Program grants, and Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp.
loans.
Lead private investors include Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity
Fund, one of the nation's leading Opportunity Zone funds focused on
impact, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment's (HBSE) real
estate and community enrichment arm, HBSE Real Estate, and a team
of local investors who contributed through a unique community crowd
fund, called Small Change.
The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC),
Commonwealth Cornerstone Group (CCG), an affiliate of the
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, and Capital One Bank, invested
$28.5 million in New Market Tax Credit allocations necessary to
bring this project to fruition. PHA serves as the senior lender and
partner in the project.
"We are absolutely thrilled to make this phase of the
Sharswood/Blumberg transformation plan become reality," said PHA
President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah. "From the beginning, the
revitalization of the Ridge Avenue corridor has been key to making
Sharswood a neighborhood in which families would choose to live.
The redevelopment of this site will provide housing services and
jobs that disappeared from the neighborhood decades ago. I would
like to thank Mayor Kenney, Council President Clarke and everyone
involved in these efforts. The neighborhood is realizing the vision
set forth by the community under the direction of Mosaic
Development and their partners."
PIDC continues to serve Philadelphia neighborhoods through the
New Market Tax Credit Program and has invested significantly in
Philadelphia neighborhoods through this program.
"This high-impact project will bring critical goods and services
to North Philadelphia, will create job opportunities for
neighborhood residents, and help to energize the entire Ridge
Avenue commercial corridor," said PIDC President, Anne Bovaird
Nevins. "PIDC is proud to help finance this project and to work
with Mosaic Development Partners, SHIFT Capital, and the PHA to
make this project a catalyst for the corridor and for the whole
community."
"Sharswood Ridge is a major achievement that will bring
significant opportunities to the surrounding community for many
years to come," said Joe DeFelice, Regional Administrator of HUD's
Mid-Atlantic region. "As I've often said, HUD is very proud to be a
part of this united effort to change lives for the better. The
progress we have seen so far is a testament to what we can achieve
when the public and private sectors work together."
"Fulton Bank is proud to be a part of this exciting public -
private partnership. We view this as an extension of our
commitment to the greater Philadelphia market and to the
Sharswood-Brewerytown neighborhoods," said Sue Lonergan, Fulton
Bank Regional President for Southeastern Pennsylvania. "Similar to
Fulton Bank's opening the first branch in Brewerytown in 30 years,
our involvement in this development epitomizes our Fulton Forward
initiative, which promotes diversity, equity and inclusion;
encourages the building of vibrant communities; fosters affordable
housing; drives economic development; and increases financial
literacy in the communities served by Fulton Bank."
The project is expected to create over 200 construction jobs and
generate over 200 permanent jobs, of which 70 percent are expected
to be made available to local residents. Construction is
anticipated to begin this month.
"This development is a tremendously exciting day for the North
Philadelphia community," said Council President Darrell L. Clarke,
whose district includes the site. "A $52 million mixed-use
development that is urgently needed by North Philadelphia residents
is finally happening."
"This project checks so many boxes for our residents on issues
magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. A lack of access to healthy
foods - we have a supermarket in this development. Check that box.
Access to adequate health care - we have an urgent care coming
here. Box checked. Access to banking - a new bank is locating here.
Check that box. More affordable housing - for seniors. Check the
box. Businesses which are minority-owned gaining economic
opportunity. A black developer is developing this project. This
project checks every box we want and need in North Philadelphia. I
cannot wait to get shovels in the ground."
"This development will serve as a linchpin in the rebirth of the
Sharswood neighborhood," said Mayor Jim Kenney. "It shows what we
can achieve when government and private partners join together with
a common purpose. It also shows the value of including community
members in setting priorities for the services they feel are most
important to them. Congratulations to PHA and all of its partners
for making this day possible."
"Sharswood Ridge is a testament to our work and belief that all
neighborhoods deserve equitable investment and wealth building
opportunities," said Leslie Smallwood Lewis, Mosaic Development
partner. "This is only possible through a true public-private
partnership, and we're honored to work with the Philadelphia
Housing Authority, elected officials, the local community and our
investors who are dedicated to bringing essential services and
improving neighborhoods."
"Sharswood Ridge will be considered a national model for
creative public-private partnerships. It is a testament to
mission-aligned developers and investors working together with our
government partners to deliver a project that the community needs
and deserves," said Brian Murray, CEO, SHIFT Capital. "SHIFT is
thankful to PHA for their vision and our various partners who
believe in the greater mission of this project and the investment
in the Sharswood neighborhood."
Doug Schaeffer, Executive Vice President, CRA Executive
Director, Woodforest National Bank added, "I am proud to contribute
to the revitalization of the Sharswood neighborhood and deliver
catalytic capital that will have an economic ripple effect
throughout the Philadelphia market, where I live and work. In
providing the first and largest equity investment in this project,
the Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity Fund is proving that
Opportunity Zones are a powerful force of positive change for
communities that need it most."
"Building upon the Philadelphia 76ers rich history of community
engagement, investment and development in the communities where our
fans live, work and play, HBSE is proud to support a project
developed in partnership with community members," said David Gould,
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment's Chief Diversity and
Impact Officer. "The Sharswood Ridge project is even more important
as we emerge from the public health and economic crises we're
currently facing, ones that have disproportionately affected Black
communities. Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the
Philadelphia 76ers and HBSE Real Estate look forward to working
alongside Mosaic Development, the Philadelphia Housing Authority
and our partners to deliver a game-changing project for the people
of Sharswood."
The Sharswood/Blumberg Redevelopment Initiative is a plan by the
PHA to improve the quality of life for local residents. The
community faces a 52.5 percent poverty rate, 80 percent
unemployment, more than 1,300 vacant parcels, a vacant public
school building, a depressed commercial corridor, and a frail
system of social services. The Initiative aims to develop the
neighborhood through new affordable housing, local job creation,
neighborhood-serving retail and commercial services and public
green space. The redevelopment has so far delivered hundreds of
housing units and the PHA's new office headquarters which opened in
December 2018. Sharswood Ridge is intended to complement those
earlier investments. Local neighborhood community leaders, who have
been waiting for years for this community to realize an investment
of critical community services, celebrated the groundbreaking.
"Our community has worked together to build a community that has
been committed to growth and stabilized families," said Darnetta
Arce, Executive Director, Brewerytown/Sharswood CDC. "We have
pushed for a grocery store and a health center for a long time, and
we are grateful that our elected officials, community leaders and
development team brought this to fruition."
About Mosaic Development Partners
Mosaic Development Partners is a Philadelphia based, minority
certified commercial real estate development and project management
company founded in 2008. Mosaic primarily focuses on ground up
development and adaptive reuse of commercial properties in
underserved urban communities. The company has successfully used
viable, but complicated finance instruments (largely in the form of
local, state, and federal loans and tax credits) to help stabilize
and grow neighborhoods and create jobs. By partnering with
municipalities, established developers, not-for-profit
organizations and government entities, Mosaic has leveraged its
investments and revitalized properties in struggling or stagnated
communities. Since 2012, Mosaic and its partners have secured and
invested more than $100 million in Philadelphia neighborhoods,
resulting in hundreds of construction and full-time jobs,
eliminating blight, and spurring additional investment in those
communities.
Mosaic Brokerage Group (MBG) is a full-service real estate
brokerage. Its agents are experienced in residential and commercial
leasing and sales, tenant representation and the repositioning of
existing assets. The brokerage is well regarded for its ability to
assist its clients in evaluating and implementing improvements that
will best position the asset to ensure a positive outcome.
To learn more about Mosaic, visit www.mosaicdp.com and www.mosaicbrokerage.com.
About Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity
Fund
The Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity Fund invests in
high-impact commercial real estate projects in federally designated
Opportunity Zones with the goal of ensuring that its investments
benefit economically distressed communities in which the projects
are located. The fund is an innovative collaboration between
Woodforest National Bank, the fund's investor, a privately held,
employee-owned bank with over 750 branches, and CEI-Boulos Capital
Management, LLC, the fund's manager. CEI-Boulos Capital Management
is a joint-venture of Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), one of the
nation's most successful Community Development Financial
Institutions (CDFIs), with over 40 years of experience investing in
communities with low-incomes, and The Boulos Company, an integrated
commercial real estate firm with broad experience in capital
markets and real estate development. The Woodforest CEI-Boulos
Opportunity Fund was recognized by Forbes and the Sorenson Impact
Center as one of the "The Forbes OZ 20: Top Opportunity Zone
Catalysts," one of the ten most innovative and impact focused
Opportunity Zone funds in the country.