Building Hope Luncheon: May 1st

-->

On Tuesday May 1^st, Habitat Philadelphia held its annual Building Hope Luncheon.  Every year Habitat holds the luncheon in order to raise funds for construction projects.  This year Habitat raised $186,391.92 from the record-breaking attendance of 735 people.  The Philly Fanatic was on hand to get people into the giving spirit and following lunch were inspiring speeches by Habitat homeowners.  The event was held in the Crystal Tea Room on the upper floors of the Wanamaker building in Center City Philadelphia, directly across the street from City Hall.      

Dave Gaffin: Dedicated Volunteer

Dave Gaffin has been volunteering for Habitat Philadelphia on almost every Saturday for the past 14 years.  He began as a student completing community service hours for school and decided to continue on.  During the week Dave works as an architect at Studio Tagland but on the weekends he dedicates his time to the construction of Habitat homes.  Dave also serves on the Acquisition and Construction Committee for Habitat which helps purchase land to build on.  When I asked Dave what he thinks the significance of Habitat Philadelphia is he replied, “It’s about rebuilding the community and getting the community back on its feet.  Seeing the home dedications is really the culmination and the importance behind the things we do.  It’s a great sense of satisfaction.”  “If you go around the city there a lot that can be done.  Rehabbing these houses and building on these vacant lots one at a time, I think it really helps.  You can see around here in north Philly with all the construction going on.  Our development also spawns other development.”   When asked what his best memory was Dave said, “4200 block of Stiles street because it took us 10 years just to acquire the properties.  We started the construction at the end of 2006 and it involved 7 row homes.  It was an affordable, sustainable, and historical project that was really one of the first of its kind in the country. “Funding has always been a concern for Habitat and Dave expressed this when asked what his hopes were for Habitat in the future, “You would always like to get that big grant.  We build between 10-15 homes a year but if we were to get, say 10 million dollars, we could easily do 50-100 homes.” 

Dave Gaffin

Dave stands outside the Morse St. construction site.

A Habitat truck that Dave said was shot three times while on a construction site in Germantown.

The bullet holes from the gunfire.

North Philly Abandoned Housing

Some Fact's About Vacant Housing:

- The most recent data (2011) from the Philadelphia Water Department (which supplements is turnoffs with visual verification of vacancy) indicates almost 40,000 vacant lots.[1]

-The same Water Department data indicates that the overwhelming percentage of empty buildings were residential (91.5%).[2]

-The 5^th Councilmanic District of Philadelphia (North Philadelphia, Temple University) had the worst abandoned property percentage in 2006 at 8.95% of all houses being abandoned.  The number of abandoned homes rose from 7.77% in 2002 and is about 4 percent higher than the city-wide average. [3]

-Temple University’s Center for Public Policy estimated the negative impact of vacant property on the value of nearby property to be more than $7,500 per property. Based on this study, the aggregate decrease in total property values could reach several hundred thousand dollars per foreclosure in densely developed areas.[4]

    

  
    

---

[1] http://www.neighborhoodindicators.org/library/catalog/vacant-and-abandoned-property-philadelphia

[2] http://www.neighborhoodindicators.org/library/catalog/vacant-and-abandoned-property-philadelphia

[3] http://cml.upenn.edu/nbase/nbStatsAction.asp

[4] http://www.phila.gov/ohcd/nsp/Philadelphia%20NSP2%20application%20final.pdf

Future Projects: 1910-1912 Wilt Street

1910 and 1912 Wilt St. are located about 5 minutes from Temple campus and are just two of the projects Habitat has lined up for rehabilitation.  Like many of the houses located on the 1900 bock of Wilt, 1910 was originally rehabilitated by Habitat but was returned after the resident decided to move into a senior living facility.  1912 is currently in the final stages of being purchased by Habitat and are not allowed to begin rehabbing it yet.  Both homes have been empty for several years and are in desperate need of complete overhauls.  Project Manager Troy Hannigan says that Habitat is planning on combining the two homes because the current sizes of the bedrooms are too small.  Habitat is also planning to tear down the back section of the two row homes because they are heavily damaged.  Both homes have been vandalized recently and broken into.  The thieves broke into the walls of the bathroom to take the copper piping which can be traded for cash as scrap metal.  1910 Wilt has also recently served as a temporary home for squatters until habitat changed the locks on the front of the door.  Across the street from 1910 and 1912 Wilt is an overrun lot owned by Habitat which was originally intended to serve as a community garden.  However, Habitat now plans on adding more homes in the lot in the upcoming year.  

1910 and 1912 Wilts St.

 

Two buildings down the street from the Wilt project location, Habitat is also trying to buy these two buildings.

The Blue prints for 1910 and 1912 Wilt St.