Affordable senior housing in Philadelphia expands with new Overbrook apartment development

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Amid a citywide shortage of affordable housing for older adults, a 55-unit apartment building for seniors is now open in the Overbrook section of West Philadelphia.

The four-story property is located on the 6400 block of Lansdowne Avenue, where the former Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church once stood.

A fire destroyed the century-old church in 2016, paving the way for new development at the site. The new building, named after Good Shepherd, is meant to honor the historic congregation and support a community with a critical need for affordable housing.

Nearly two-thirds of renters in Overbrook are considered cost-burdened, meaning more than 30% of their income is used to cover housing costs.

“There’s a lot of seniors in the community who can’t age in place very well in their current homes, but have been in the neighborhood for generations and wanted to stay in the neighborhood,” said Lindsey Samsi, a regional vice president at Pennrose, a national affordable housing developer based in Philadelphia.

The $30 million development represents a partnership among Pennrose, the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and the Wynnefield Overbrook Revitalization Corporation.

It was built with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, the country’s main mechanism for producing new affordable housing. In exchange for the construction subsidy, the units at Good Shepherd must remain affordable for 40 years.

All of the apartments are one-bedroom, priced for households earning at or below 20%, 50% and 60% of the area median income. For an individual, that translates annually to $16,720, $41,800 and $51,160, respectively.

The deeply affordable units, which comprise 10% of the building, are being offered through project-based vouchers from the Philadelphia Housing Authority. The vouchers enable tenants to pay no more than 30% of their income on rent. The rest is covered by the federal government.

To qualify for an apartment at Good Shepherd, applicants must be 62 or older.

“We are almost fully leased,” said Samsi.

The new apartment building is not far from Brith Sholom House, an apartment tower in Wynnefield Heights that was once home to hundreds of older adults.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority is rehabbing the crumbling building after purchasing it in 2024. A judge approved the sale after years of turmoil at the property, whose former owners were sentenced to federal prison for mortgage fraud.

The $100 million project is expected to start later this year and wrap up in December 2028, leaving a temporary but sizable gap in the city’s supply of affordable apartments for seniors.