Tenants in 69 units at the University City Townhomes in Philadelphia are being forced to relocate after the building owner ended its federal contract to provide affordable housing on site. The company, IBID Associates, plans to sell the land.
The two-year fight to save the Townhomes has now landed in federal court, after the owners sued the city and City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier for allegedly violating their rights to sell the property. A protest encampment was disbanded this week.
The collapse of this long-standing affordable housing complex was dramatic and headline-grabbing, but the underlying story of expiring government subsidies is not unusual — and it could happen again.