Mayor Parker appoints nonprofit leader Angela D. Brooks to oversee H.O.M.E., Philly’s long-awaited housing initiative

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Wednesday announced the appointment of housing nonprofit leader Angela D. Brooks to a new position overseeing the mayor’s plan to build or preserve 30,000 units of housing — a long-awaited initiative about which the administration has offered scant details.

“Something exciting is happening in the city of Philadelphia,” Parker said at a City Hall news conference announcing Brooks’ appointment to lead the initiative the mayor has dubbed H.O.M.E., or Housing Opportunities Made Easy. “We’ve been talking about this for a long time, to promote the creation of what I call affordable luxury housing everywhere.”

» READ MORE: Cherelle Parker promised 30,000 units of ‘affordable housing’ as a candidate. She’s watered down that goal as mayor.

Brooks, the Illinois director of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, will be Philadelphia’s chief housing and urban development officer.

“This housing crisis is going to be a challenge, but challenges are easily accomplished when we work together,” said Brooks, who is also president of the American Planning Association, where she studied how to accelerate expansion of the nation’s housing supply and reducing barriers to production. “It won’t be easy, but it will be achievable if we all work together.”

Brooks, whose salary will be $200,000, starts March 10.

Despite Brooks’ appointment to lead it, Parker’s housing plan, which was originally supposed to be unveiled last fall, largely remains a mystery. The administration has offered little in the way of specifics on what programs will be used to expand housing access, how the initiative will be funded, and what government agencies will be involved.

Parker provided a hint Wednesday about one policy she is likely to include in her proposal for the next city budget, which will take effect July 1. She noted that Philadelphia is competing with suburban counties and other cities for public-sector professionals — naming teachers and first responders, specifically — who might make their start with the city but could go elsewhere unless they are offered incentives to stay in Philly.

“They can go wherever they want,” Parker said in an interview. “We are going to make them an offer that they can’t refuse.”

Parker signed an executive order Wednesday “to establish an advisory group and engage the internal and external stakeholders who will inform the mayor’s housing plan,” according to the mayor’s office, and said she would unveil more about how the plan will be funded in her budget address to City Council on March 13.

Parker mentioned Wednesday that the building trades unions will be heavily involved in the initiative, not just providing the workers for housing construction, but also as financial backers of the project.

“We have to do this,” said Ryan Boyer, a close Parker ally who leads the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, a coalition of more than 30 unions. “We are partners, and if we have to put up some of our substantial pension funds to help, we will.”

Last week, she told Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia that housing would be a top priority of the second year of her administration and that she will soon propose “a significant city financial commitment.” She has previously said she is committed both to juicing housing efforts with initiatives funded by government and the nonprofit sector, as well as to streamlining city regulatory processes to encourage more unsubsidized housing production.

But Parker made it clear that she will not be tampering with councilmanic prerogative, a Philadelphia tradition that gives district Council members significant influence over hyperlocal land use rules. Many development proponents have criticized the practice as a barrier to housing production, as many Council members use it to stymie projects like dense apartment buildings and subsidized housing that are unpopular with vocal blocs of constituents.

But councilmanic prerogative is an unwritten practice, not a law, that would be difficult to root out. And any attempt to do so would alienate much of Council. A former Council member herself, Parker made it clear Wednesday she will be working with, not against, her old colleagues.

“Councilmanic prerogative in land use — that is one of the most valuable roles of the district Council person,” Parker said.

While campaigning for mayor in 2023, Parker promised to build “30,000 units of affordable housing,” a benchmark so ambitious it would likely be impossible to accomplish in four years. After taking office, she watered-down the goal to include all types of housing, not just affordable units, and to also include renovation projects that keep people in their homes, not just new construction.

Even with those qualifications, reaching 30,000 units remains an aggressive target. And President Donald Trump’s administration isn’t likely to make it any easier.

Federal support and funding for local initiatives is in doubt, as Elon Musk and his allies are waging war on governmental agencies including the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is reportedly considering layoffs that would reduce the housing agency’s headcount by half.

Parker said she has been meeting with U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and David McCormick of Pennsylvania about the city’s federal funding, and she remains confident that Philadelphia will be able to make its voice heard in Washington.

“I won’t allow an election or any kind of politics to get in the way of us doing our work,” Parker said. “We’re going to rely on all of our elected leaders to help us navigate those structures and systems. That is what they are supposed to do. So I’m not discouraged by it at all.”

Gregory Heller, a former executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and a national housing consultant, said expanding housing opportunities “is a problem everywhere.”

“Cities across the country of every size and geography are struggling right now with how to build more supply and preserve the housing that they have,” Heller said at the news conference. “The Parker administration deserves a lot of credit for tackling this challenge, and I’ll tell you, not every city tries to tackle this.”

In the 13 months since Parker took office, there has been significant turnover in the city’s top housing and planning positions. Shortly after she was sworn in, Parker fired Eleanor Sharpe, who had been serving as the interim director of planning and development, and Melissa Long, deputy director for housing and community development.

Housing and development initially fell under the portfolio of Aren Platt, a top Parker political aide who was serving as chief deputy mayor until he unexpectedly resigned in October. Parker then named Jessie Lawrence, who had served as Platt’s top deputy, to be the city’s director of planning and development.

“Over the past year, we worked closely with housing and data experts to ensure that this initiative is grounded in a strong foundation,” Lawrence said Wednesday. “We met with colleagues from departments and other offices across the city whose work touches the city’s interface with development … and we started to look at those pain points together.”