Developer Mo Rushdy resigns from Philly Land Bank board after only four months
Rushdy decided to resign from the Land Bank board Monday after realizing he had overcommitted himself, he said in a statement.
After just four months on the board of the Philadelphia Land Bank, developer Mohamed “Mo” Rushdy submitted his resignation to Cherelle L. Parker’s administration Monday afternoon.
His appointment in November stirred controversy among nonprofit housing developers, who argued that Rushdy’s companies often sought to obtain municipally owned land and that he would be dogged by conflicts of interest.
At that time, Rushdy said that he would not seek any additional parcels from the Land Bank and would recuse himself from any votes that involved companies he owns stakes in — which happened at two of the three board meetings he attended as a member.
In a statement to The Inquirer, Rushdy said that he was resigning because he was overextended.
At the beginning of this year, he became president of the Building Industry Association (BIA), an influential advocacy group for residential developers, and is championing a mentorship program for underrepresented developers in the building industry through the Urban Developers Association.
He is also on the board of the Philadelphia Accelerator Fund, a nonprofit loan fund that supports Black and brown developers in the city.
Rushdy said his resignation had “nothing to do with” his real estate business or critiques about conflicts of interest. In an interview last year, he noted that community development corporation representatives who also sought municipally owned parcels were on the Land Bank board.
“The time being spent on both the Accelerator Fund as well as the mentorship program … is close to 15-20 hours a week,” Rushdy said in his statement. “This is service to the community, and I want to be sure that I put time on where I could be most impactful.”
He noted that the Urban Developer Association had recently submitted nine applications to the Land Bank for development that represent a $21 million investment in below market rate housing.
Rushdy himself has a large project before the Land Bank that predates his tenure on the board.
At the September and October board meetings, he faced questions from activists in the Norris Square neighborhood about an effort to obtain 75 parcels for a development through a city-backed program designed to provide affordable home ownership opportunities — especially for city workers.
Although Rushdy promised to not seek more public land while on the board, he intended to pursue that existing project. Opponents in the neighborhood, however, said that most current residents wouldn’t be able to afford the homes so he shouldn’t be allowed to buy more than $3 million worth of land for $78,000.
“We need your immediate attention and action to prevent a disastrous giveaway of land to a developer that threaten[s] to undermine our efforts for affordable housing,” Rodolfo Santos, of Norris Square Community Alliance, wrote in an email to supporters March 14.
A community meeting about the proposal is being held on Wednesday at the West Kensington Ministry in Norris Square.
A spokesperson for the Parker administration declined to comment on Rushdy’s resignation, and Norris Square Community Alliance did not immediately reply to a request for comment.