- The Archdiocese of Philadelphia began a 52-apartment building for seniors
- It sits on the former St. John Neumann Catholic High School campus
- A $12 million tax credit allocation is financing the project
- It joins a 75-unit senior building already on the site
The Catholic Church in Philadelphia is putting a former school campus to work as housing for older people. CBS Philadelphia reported that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia held a groundbreaking for St. John Neumann Place II, a 52-apartment affordable housing development for independent seniors at 27th and Mifflin Streets in South Philadelphia.
The site is the former campus of St. John Neumann Catholic High School. The project was supported by a $12 million tax credit allocation from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, with completion expected in autumn 2017. Catholic Health Care Services and the archdiocese’s Office for Community Development took part in the ceremony.
The new building will sit next to the original St. John Neumann Place, which had been operating for about eight years and contains 75 affordable apartments for seniors.
Auxiliary Bishop John J. McIntyre offered a prayer for future residents. “For those who will one day live in this residence…may they find in Saint John Neumann Place II a true home full of friendship and activity where their health, faith and well-being will be cared for,” he said.
Across the world, churches are finding that buildings once used for schools and worship can become homes when congregations shrink or needs change. In Jamaica, churches own many school campuses and compounds. The Philadelphia model, reusing a former church school site with the help of public tax credits, offers one way to house an ageing population without selling church property.
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