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The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) broke ground yesterday on its planned $45 million new headquarters at 2013 Ridge Avenue.
The multi-phase project, known to some as Sharswood-Blumberg, will first bring a six-story building to the site that will be the new home of the PHA. Later phases will include mixed-use buildings, retail, and residential units to the triangular site, as well.
The groundbreaking comes after a somewhat rocky response from the design community last year. The PHA presented its design proposal for the six-story building twice to the Civic Design Review. The committee hoped for a design that was less suburban, and commented on the lack of communication between the two city agencies.
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PHA says the hope is that its new headquarters will be an economic driver for the revitalization of Sharswood. The North Philly neighborhood is currently in the middle of a $500 million redevelopment transformation that aims to bring 1,200 residential units and a retail corridor along Ridge Avenue to the area. In addition, PHA recently acquired the local Vaux High School, which is set to re-open this year.
Construction on the PHA headquarters is expected to finish up in the fall of 2018.