Council explores affordable housing

Borough residents had asked for an exploratory taskforce to look into the issue

PHOENIXVILLE >> Borough council has agreed to discuss the issue of affordable housing at a policy committee meeting after residents called for an exploratory taskforce.

Kris Keller, executive director of Orion Communities, a nonprofit organization located on Bridge Street dedicated to helping families in need, and resident Virginia Murphy said they were concerned about the increasing lack of safe, affordable housing in the borough as Phoenixville continues to grow.

“While Phoenixville is known for its diverse population and being a desirable place to live,” Keller began, “more people are wanting to live here resulting in increasing rents and mortgages, which is forcing people of more marginal needs from living in Phoenixville.”

The two women said they wanted to begin a community conversation on the issue and called on council to form a taskforce to collect appropriate facts and find ways to ensure affordable housing is available.

Orion regularly hears about the changing housing market and the difficulty finding affordable housing, Keller said. A retiree’s rent, for example, jumped from $400 a month to $600 and he couldn’t afford that on a $756 a month income.

“He didn’t want to fight the landlord,” she said. “He just wanted to know of other affordable housing options. He had never been homeless and didn’t want to start at 67 years of age.” Orion helped the man find an apartment for $500 a month, but it was outside of the area which had been his community.

The issue, Keller said, extends beyond older adults. Young peo-

ple and families who grew up in Phoenixville have difficulty finding an affordable place to live. As Phoenixville continues to grow and prosper, many residents find they can no longer afford to live here.

Keller said 9.2 percent

of residents live at or below the poverty line, which translates to about 1,500 people.

“For a family of three that’s $20,160 a year,” she said. Chester County recognizes that one adult with two children needs to earn $28.20 an hour, or $58,000 a year, to count as a living wage and not need any additional support or subsidy.

According to the U.S.

Census Report, the median household income in Phoenixville from 2011-2015 was approximately $56,000 a year. The Chester County median income by comparison was approximately $86,000 a year.

“With an average household size of 2.3 people, for new families just starting their careers, or people working low or minimum wage jobs, the newly constructed housing in Phoenixville is not a viable option,” Keller said. “Acceptable housing cost burden is considered to be 30 percent of gross income. Housing rent on mortgages that exceed 30 percent of income are an affordability concern.”

Keller said Phoenixville can learn from other communities across the country like Pittsburgh or New Orleans facing similar challenges. They require impact studies on how proposed developments would affect current people in the community.

Murphy read from a statement made by Lou Beccaria, president of the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation, who said the issue was quickly becoming Chester County’s number one human services concern.

“While the borough is enjoying a great amount of revitalization and gentrification that is promoting much needed economic development for the betterment of the borough, in this process we must not forget the basic housing needs of our lower income Phoenixvillians,” she said. “More and more low income borough citizens are getting priced out of affordable housing each month.”

Beccaria wrote that projects like the incoming Steel Town Village, which will provide 48 affordable town home units, are a step in the right direction, even if they don’t fix the problem completely.

“Our foundation very much supports this project and has already provided $50,000 in funding toward it,” Murphy read. “On behalf of the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation, I urge borough council to likewise support this project in any way possible.”