A multi-billion-dollar housing plan | Real Estate Newsletter

Since 2023, when lots of candidates were competing to become Philadelphia’s mayor, we’ve been hearing that eventual winner Cherelle L. Parker would unveil a plan to build housing in the city.

But we didn’t know details. Last month, we got a name — the Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E., initiative. This week, we learned more about how Mayor Parker plans to go about building and preserving thousands of homes across the city.

The mayor’s long-awaited housing plan includes investing in existing programs and creating new ones. And it comes with quite the price tag.

Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:

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You may remember that we’ve talked about how the mayor’s housing goals have changed since the campaign trail. Back then, Parker said she’d build 30,000 affordable housing units during her term. After taking office, she said her goal was to build or preserve 30,000 homes for households across incomes.

It’s a watered-down goal, but it’s still ambitious, especially given political and economic barriers to bolstering the housing supply.

On Monday, the mayor gave us some of the details of her housing plan in a speech before City Council.

Parker proposed expanding and creating more programs that help Philadelphians become homeowners and streamlining the process of acquiring and building homes on vacant land.

And she wants more funding for city programs around rent subsidies, utility bill assistance, home repairs, home adaptations for people with disabilities, eviction prevention, and more.

Some numbers to chew on:

$2 billion: How much Parker expects her plan to cost.

13,500: How many new homes would be built under Parker’s plan.

16,500: How many existing homes would be preserved.

Keep reading to learn more details of the initiative, what happens now, and how the mayor plans to pay for everything.

When you think of the word “tropical,” Philly is not a place that comes to mind. But we’ve all suffered through the heat and humidity of recent summers (or enjoyed it, if that’s your thing).

So when it comes to gardens, tropical plants have a good time here. And home gardeners like Eve Thyrum in Kennett Square are using them to add a bit of drama to their properties.

Thyrum’s got elephant ears, cannas, and banana plants. Her long driveway is lined with pots overflowing with tropical foliage every summer.

“Particularly in the summer months, there’s a desire for more dynamic color and large florals,” said a director at Urban Jungle Designs in South Philly.

The best time of year to plant tropical foliage is coming soon.

Keep reading for some tips on adding tropical plants to your garden.

Frank and Elizabeth Klare were used to living in hotels. But as Frank neared retirement from his job as a general manager at the Warwick Hotel in Philly, they looked for a house to settle into.

They found a three-bed, three-bath home along Rancocas Creek in Delanco. The sliding doors in the sunroom lead to a walking path and the creek.

Frank’s work in hotels took the couple around the world, and their home decor reflects that.

Among their treasured items are:

🍵 a solid brass samovar — a vessel used to heat and boil water for tea — from Russia

💡 a handmade lamp of dried and painted camel skin from northern Pakistan

🗡️ a khanjar — a ceremonial knife — from Oman

Peek inside the Klares’ home to see things they picked up during their travels and Frank’s paintings, which dot the home.

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I stumped you again last week. The photo in the quiz was taken inside a historic local movie theater: Anthony Wayne Theater in Wayne.

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So you know that I hate mice. But things could be much worse. Philly could have a rat problem.

Turns out, the city receives fewer rat complaints than New York, Washington, and Baltimore. And since Philadelphians love to complain, that’s gotta mean something. Or else our rats are better at hiding.

We know we have them. We’ve all got a rat story or three.

Maybe a year into the pandemic, I walked with a friend across the South Street pedestrian bridge, and in a parking lot between us and the waterfront, we were confronted with so many rats crawling all over a trash can. My friend deadpanned, “That’s a lot of rats.” I still crack up thinking about it.

I can’t say that my colleagues’ story about rats in Philly will make you laugh, but you will learn a lot.

Enjoy the rest of your week. I hope it’s rat free.

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