Mission First Housing Group’s New Market West development is a multiyear, multiphase reinvestment in the Haddington/Cobbs Creek section of West Philadelphia that began in 2017 and concluded in 2021. The project saw the revitalization of a vacant 1.5 acre lot into a 135,700 sf mixed use, transit-oriented commercial development and a five-story, 51,150 sf affordable workforce rental housing residence with apartments for 41 low income households. The project brought essential housing, childcare and health services to Haddington after a marked period of deinvestment that was brought about by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)’s prolonged, 10-year renovation of the Market-Frankford elevated transit line from 1999-2009. The construction largely cut off access to Haddington retail, and the detours and blocked access to street-level shops created deep economic wounds and eroded the local business base. Difficult transit access also restricted resident’s access to wider employment, education, and citywide services. Following this renovation, the neighborhood was hit dramatically by the Covid-19 shutdown, which led to increased unemployment and socioeconomic isolation.

New Market West added vital affordable housing units to this section of the city at a time when demand for affordable housing was at record highs and gentrification pressure was increasing from neighboring University City, home to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. The project demonstrated a successful public-private partnership and was recognized as a model for future private investment in the area. In 2021, the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC) awarded New Market West a Blue Ribbon Award for large community development.

New Market West succeeded in its goals of adding and retaining 300 local jobs and creating a thriving community hub through: artful partnerships with neighborhood non-profits including ACHIEVEability, Horizon House, and Wonderspring; close coordination with local leaders, including Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr., State Senator Vincent Hughes, and Representative Morgan Cephas, and innovative design that blended the natural attributes of the site (proximity to transit, a grocery store, a senior center, and hospital), with a host of essentials that young families require for success: childcare, early childhood education, employment resources, job training, and health services.

The four-story, Phase 1 mixed use commercial building of New Market West faces Market Street, a main artery across the City of Philadelphia. Its design combines social services, offices, retail, and early childhood education with an underground parking garage, public plaza, and outdoor amenity space with views of the city skyline. The five-story residential building created during Phase II faces North Salford Street and adds 28, one-bedroom and 13, two-bedroom apartments, as well as a laundry room, exercise room, and community room. Presently, Phase II is 100 percent occupied; Phase I is fully occupied with the exception of 1,500 of its 93,000 sf of commercial space.

Project Partners:

• Owner – Horizon House
• Owner/Developer – Mission First Housing Group
• Architect/MEP Engineering – Thriven Design
• Electrical Engineering – Mulhern Consulting Engineers
• Structural Engineering – The Harman Group/IMEG
• Civil Engineering/Land Surveyor – Eustace Engineering
• Geotechnical Engineering – Earth Engineering
• Landscape Architect/Green Roof Consultant/Playground Consultant – Roofmeadow Studios
• LEED Administrator – Re:Vision Architecture
• Construction Manager – McDonald Building Company
• General Contractor/Property Management – Columbus Property Management & Development Inc