PHA joins with Mosaic Development and SHIFT Capital to Break Ground on Sharswood Ridge

Lead private investors include Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity Fund, one of the nation’s leading Opportunity Zone funds focused on impact, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment’s (HBSE) real estate and community enrichment arm, HBSE Real Estate, and a team of local investors who contributed through a unique community crowd fund, called Small Change.

The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), Commonwealth Cornerstone Group (CCG), an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, and Capital One Bank, invested $28.5 million in New Market Tax Credit allocations necessary to bring this project to fruition. PHA serves as the senior lender and partner in the project.

“We are absolutely thrilled to make this phase of the Sharswood/Blumberg transformation plan become reality,” said PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah. “From the beginning, the revitalization of the Ridge Avenue corridor has been key to making Sharswood a neighborhood in which families would choose to live. The redevelopment of this site will provide housing services and jobs that disappeared from the neighborhood decades ago. I would like to thank Mayor Kenney, Council President Clarke and everyone involved in these efforts. The neighborhood is realizing the vision set forth by the community under the direction of Mosaic Development and their partners.”

PIDC continues to serve Philadelphia neighborhoods through the New Market Tax Credit Program and has invested significantly in Philadelphia neighborhoods through this program.

“This high-impact project will bring critical goods and services to North Philadelphia, will create job opportunities for neighborhood residents, and help to energize the entire Ridge Avenue commercial corridor,” said PIDC President, Anne Bovaird Nevins. “PIDC is proud to help finance this project and to work with Mosaic Development Partners, SHIFT Capital, and the PHA to make this project a catalyst for the corridor and for the whole community.”

“Sharswood Ridge is a major achievement that will bring significant opportunities to the surrounding community for many years to come,” said Joe DeFelice, Regional Administrator of HUD’s Mid-Atlantic region. “As I’ve often said, HUD is very proud to be a part of this united effort to change lives for the better. The progress we have seen so far is a testament to what we can achieve when the public and private sectors work together.”

“Fulton Bank is proud to be a part of this exciting public – private partnership.  We view this as an extension of our commitment to the greater Philadelphia market and to the Sharswood-Brewerytown neighborhoods,” said Sue Lonergan, Fulton Bank Regional President for Southeastern Pennsylvania. “Similar to Fulton Bank’s opening the first branch in Brewerytown in 30 years, our involvement in this development epitomizes our Fulton Forward initiative, which promotes diversity, equity and inclusion; encourages the building of vibrant communities; fosters affordable housing; drives economic development; and increases financial literacy in the communities served by Fulton Bank.”

The project is expected to create over 200 construction jobs and generate over 200 permanent jobs, of which 70 percent are expected to be made available to local residents. Construction is anticipated to begin this month.

“This development is a tremendously exciting day for the North Philadelphia community,” said Council President Darrell L. Clarke, whose district includes the site. “A $52 million mixed-use development that is urgently needed by North Philadelphia residents is finally happening.”

“This project checks so many boxes for our residents on issues magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. A lack of access to healthy foods – we have a supermarket in this development. Check that box. Access to adequate health care – we have an urgent care coming here. Box checked. Access to banking – a new bank is locating here. Check that box. More affordable housing – for seniors. Check the box. Businesses which are minority-owned gaining economic opportunity. A black developer is developing this project. This project checks every box we want and need in North Philadelphia. I cannot wait to get shovels in the ground.”

“This development will serve as a linchpin in the rebirth of the Sharswood neighborhood,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “It shows what we can achieve when government and private partners join together with a common purpose. It also shows the value of including community members in setting priorities for the services they feel are most important to them. Congratulations to PHA and all of its partners for making this day possible.”

“Sharswood Ridge is a testament to our work and belief that all neighborhoods deserve equitable investment and wealth building opportunities,” said Leslie Smallwood Lewis, Mosaic Development partner. “This is only possible through a true public-private partnership, and we’re honored to work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, elected officials, the local community and our investors who are dedicated to bringing essential services and improving neighborhoods.”

“Sharswood Ridge will be considered a national model for creative public-private partnerships. It is a testament to mission-aligned developers and investors working together with our government partners to deliver a project that the community needs and deserves,” said Brian Murray, CEO, SHIFT Capital. “SHIFT is thankful to PHA for their vision and our various partners who believe in the greater mission of this project and the investment in the Sharswood neighborhood.”

Doug Schaeffer, Executive Vice President, CRA Executive Director, Woodforest National Bank added, “I am proud to contribute to the revitalization of the Sharswood neighborhood and deliver catalytic capital that will have an economic ripple effect throughout the Philadelphia market, where I live and work. In providing the first and largest equity investment in this project, the Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity Fund is proving that Opportunity Zones are a powerful force of positive change for communities that need it most.”

“Building upon the Philadelphia 76ers rich history of community engagement, investment and development in the communities where our fans live, work and play, HBSE is proud to support a project developed in partnership with community members,” said David Gould, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment’s Chief Diversity and Impact Officer. “The Sharswood Ridge project is even more important as we emerge from the public health and economic crises we’re currently facing, ones that have disproportionately affected Black communities. Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the Philadelphia 76ers and HBSE Real Estate look forward to working alongside Mosaic Development, the Philadelphia Housing Authority and our partners to deliver a game-changing project for the people of Sharswood.”

The Sharswood/Blumberg Redevelopment Initiative is a plan by the PHA to improve the quality of life for local residents. The community faces a 52.5 percent poverty rate, 80 percent unemployment, more than 1,300 vacant parcels, a vacant public school building, a depressed commercial corridor, and a frail system of social services. The Initiative aims to develop the neighborhood through new affordable housing, local job creation, neighborhood-serving retail and commercial services and public green space. The redevelopment has so far delivered hundreds of housing units and the PHA’s new office headquarters which opened in December 2018. Sharswood Ridge is intended to complement those earlier investments. Local neighborhood community leaders, who have been waiting for years for this community to realize an investment of critical community services, celebrated the groundbreaking.

About Mosaic Development Partners

Mosaic Development Partners is a Philadelphia based, minority certified commercial real estate development and project management company founded in 2008. Mosaic primarily focuses on ground up development and adaptive reuse of commercial properties in underserved urban communities. The company has successfully used viable, but complicated finance instruments (largely in the form of local, state, and federal loans and tax credits) to help stabilize and grow neighborhoods and create jobs. By partnering with municipalities, established developers, not-for-profit organizations and government entities, Mosaic has leveraged its investments and revitalized properties in struggling or stagnated communities. Since 2012, Mosaic and its partners have secured and invested more than $100 million in Philadelphia neighborhoods, resulting in hundreds of construction and full-time jobs, eliminating blight, and spurring additional investment in those communities.

Mosaic Brokerage Group (MBG) is a full-service real estate brokerage. Its agents are experienced in residential and commercial leasing and sales, tenant representation and the repositioning of existing assets. The brokerage is well regarded for its ability to assist its clients in evaluating and implementing improvements that will best position the asset to ensure a positive outcome.

To learn more about Mosaic, visit www.mosaicdp.com and www.mosaicbrokerage.com.

The Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity Fund invests in high-impact commercial real estate projects in federally designated Opportunity Zones with the goal of ensuring that its investments benefit economically distressed communities in which the projects are located. The fund is an innovative collaboration between Woodforest National Bank, the fund’s investor, a privately held, employee-owned bank with over 750 branches, and CEI-Boulos Capital Management, LLC, the fund’s manager. CEI-Boulos Capital Management is a joint-venture of Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), one of the nation’s most successful Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), with over 40 years of experience investing in communities with low-incomes, and The Boulos Company, an integrated commercial real estate firm with broad experience in capital markets and real estate development. The Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity Fund was recognized by Forbes and the Sorenson Impact Center as one of the “The Forbes OZ 20: Top Opportunity Zone Catalysts,” one of the ten most innovative and impact focused Opportunity Zone funds in the country.