When local leaders formed Mt. Vernon Manor CDC in 1977, its primary purpose was to provide safe, high-quality affordable housing to the residents of Mantua. To accomplish that goal, the organization secured funding to acquire and renovate 125 apartments in buildings scattered across eastern Mantua. Beginning in 1978 when the first buildings were bought, and for many years thereafter, MVMCDC was a diligent steward of these homes.
Thirty-five years later, the population and prosperity of the city and the neighborhood had waned and the buildings had fallen into decline. So, the newly reorganized MVMCDC board, in concert with Mantua residents and other stakeholders, made the renovation of the Mt. Vernon Manor Apartments a top priority of the community development agenda laid out in the Mantua Transformation Plan.
The scale of the task of revitalizing the MVM Apartments was such that the board and its partners determined to undertake the work in two phases. The first phase, appropriately dubbed Mt Vernon Manor “Phase I,” consisted of the renovation of seventy-five units across five buildings. The $16 million project was supported by the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, and PNC Bank and was completed in the fall of 2014. The newly renovated apartment community features four wheelchair-accessible units, a new all-purpose community room, and a laundry facility.
For information about leasing an apartment at Mt. Vernon Manor Phase I, please contact the Leasing Office at 215-222-9054 or visit 3311 Wallace Street, Suite B, Philadelphia, PA, 19104.