Carl Mackley Apartments

Project Location
Philadelphia, PA

Project Description
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust helped finance the successful $20 million renovation of the Carl Mackley Apartments which reopened in the summer of 1999 and are now fully leased. The 5.4 acre site spans an entire block in the Juniata neighborhood of Philadelphia. The renovated apartments offer 184 rental units, ranging from one- to four-bedrooms and housed in 4 three- and four-story buildings. Approximately half of the finished units are reserved for very low-income residents in need of Section 8 rent subsidies.

Distinctive Project Characteristics
The Carl Mackley Apartments were built in 1934 by Philadelphia's Full Fashion Hosiery Workers Union to provide housing for the local work force. At the time, this project was viewed as one of the most significant housing developments in the United States. It was one of the first housing developments under President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal as well as being one of the first examples of the International Style of architecture in the United States. It is considered a landmark in the federal government’s emerging role in providing affordable housing. Today, the Carl Mackley Apartments complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its rehabilitation has enhanced a community consisting mainly of owner-occupied, attached and well-maintained single-family units.

Developer
Canus Corporation

Lender
AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. The Trust provided $4.9 million in financing for the project. The Trust selected this project to receive $12.7 million in Section 8 project based rental assistance.

Other Lenders

State of Pennsylvania Low-Income Housing & Historic Tax Credit Allocation, a subordinate loan from the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, CDBG funds from the city of Philadelphia.

Project Information
Total Number of Units 184
Trust Loan Amount $4.9 million
Section 8 Assistance $12.7 million
Total Development Cost $21.0 million