PHA plans 50 new senior apartments in North Philly as larger redevelopment stalls

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The Philadelphia Housing Authority is working to transform the agency’s Harrison Plaza development in North Philadelphia, starting with a 50-unit apartment building for older adults at 10th and Thompson streets.

Mission First Housing Group is developing the project in partnership with PHA. The four-story building would replace nearly a dozen low-rise townhomes the authority built in the 1950s.

“This is the first phase of what we hope will be the large-scale revitalization of the Harrison neighborhood,” said Troy Rog-Urman, an architect with Thriven Design, during Wednesday’s meeting of the city’s Civic Design Review committee.

The advisory group, composed of architects and planners, provides feedback on proposed developments early on in the approvals process. Developers are not required to adopt the committee’s recommendations.

Plans for the project call for 43 one-bedroom units and seven two-bedroom units. The proposal also includes a roof deck and a community room, which may be home to a health suite providing primary care services to tenants.

No additional parking would be offered because there is an existing surface lot, Rog-Urman said.

The new building sits next to a linear park in the shadow of a 15-story high-rise that PHA redeveloped in 2023 as 116 units of affordable senior housing. That property is full and has a yearslong waiting list, which prompted Mission First to propose additional senior housing.

“This project will alleviate a direct need in this community as residents of Harrison are aging. This then gives them the opportunity to perhaps downsize, if they’re interested in that, but move into a community that would really be made up of their current neighbors,” said Kate Murray, senior development project manager with Mission First, during Wednesday’s meeting.