University City Townhomes residents now have until end of the year to find new low-income housing

Residents of University City Townhomes now have until the end of the year to find new low-income housing, according to a spokesperson for the landlord.

Tenants’ federal affordable housing subsidies had been set to expire Oct. 8, but the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development agreed to an extension through Dec. 27, said Kevin Feeley, a spokesperson for IBID Associates. Residents were notified late last week, he said.

“We’re still on edge about it,” said Rasheda Alexander, a 14-year UC Townhomes resident and tenant representative. “We still are facing the same fears and anxieties that we faced previously, especially because nothing has really changed as far as the housing market is concerned.”

“It gives us a little bit more time, but I’m nervous,” said Lynn Green, who has lived at UC Townhomes for more than two decades and has yet to find a new place to live. “When I go to look for places, I get there and there’s 30 people looking at the same place.”

This most recent extension is the latest development surrounding the University City Townhomes, an affordable housing complex home to 69 predominantly Black and Hispanic families. Located at 39th and Market Streets, the complex’s neighborhood was once referred to as Black Bottom, a historically Black community that gradually gentrified with the development of the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University.

Last year, IBID announced its plan to sell and redevelop the property, ending its federal affordable housing contract that was originally set to expire this past July.

Residents, some of whom have lived in the complex for decades, were not happy to hear of those plans.

Since then, they have organized, forming the Save the UC Townhomes coalition. This summer, they set up an encampment on the complex’s lawn in protest. Earlier this month, the coalition of residents and supporters rallied at City Hall, laying out a list of demands. They called for IBID to extend its federal contract for another two years and to sell the property to a third party that intends to keep the complex as affordable housing.

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City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier tried to intervene and prohibit demolition on the property. IBID then sued Gauthier and the city federal court. The lawsuit has yet to be resolved.

The federal contract has been extended several times, first from July to Sept. 7 to to allow more time for the housing vouchers to arrive for displaced tenants. Then, it was pushed to Oct. 8 and now, the end of the year.

Under the contract, HUD pays the difference between the unit’s rent and 30% of the resident household’s income.

IBID has no plans to evict residents when the contract expires, Feeley said, but they will no longer receive those subsidies unless they move to another affordable housing complex.

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“We have never said we’re going to be evicting anybody,” Feeley said. “The relocation process is working and our intention is to give people a reasonable amount of time to complete it.”

Feeley said “at least half” of residents have moved or received their vouchers in anticipation of moving, with most others having completed their paperwork to get the vouchers. Alexander told Billy Penn that 58 families do not know where they are moving.

Residents Alexander and Green both said they have received their vouchers but have encountered difficulty finding comparable housing options.

Green, who worked two jobs most of her life and struggles with health problems, said she could not afford to live at UC Townhomes when the subsidies end — “I don’t have that kind of money.” The stress of the upcoming deadline has had physical effects, too, Green said, adding that she has not slept well in months and began suffering from panic attacks.

IBID’s ultimate goal remains to sell and redevelop, Feeley said, but there is no set deadline for when it plans to do so.