Philadelphia LGBT-Friendly Affordable Senior Housing Awarded $11M in Tax Credit Financing

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) recently voted to provide a reservation of low-income housing tax credits that will generate up to $11 million for the LGBT-friendly affordable senior housing facility co-developed by the dmhFund and Pennrose Properties.

This new public-private housing initiative, conceived in the heart of Philadelphia's downtown lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender neighborhoods, is considered among the first such elder housing facilities of its kind in the U.S. This critical stream of funding will allow the $19 million project to move forward and break ground as early as Sept. 30th. The co-developers had already raised $6 million from the Commonwealth's capital development program and $2 million from the city's Office of Housing and Community Development.

The developer has stated that this breakthrough elder housing project, once completed, will comply with all equal housing laws and regulations. And this ensures that it will not discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity -- nor can it be made exclusive only to qualified LGBT seniors.

There have been many studies that indicate a strong need for affordable housing for the elderly LGBT population. A recent Williams Institute study (UCLA, March 2009) found significantly higher rates of poverty among gay men and lesbians over age 65.