Philly’s Turn the Key affordable housing initiative hits 100 houses sold

BREWERYTOWN (KYW Newsradio) — For Kenya Hinton, buying a new house seemed out of reach.

"Coming up with the down payment was a barrier for me, trying to save, pay student loans, rent, other bills, live. It was difficult to come up with the down payment," she said.

But then she heard about the city's Turn the Key program, which takes properties from the city's Land Bank, sells them at a discount to developers and works with commercial banks on construction loans and mortgages. City employees like Hinton, who works for the city’s department of behavioral health and intellectual disAbilities, also get first dibs.

The program provided her with more than $85,000 in grants and soft loans so she was able to close on a newly-built rowhouse on Marston Street in Brewerytown with no out-of-pocket costs.

It was the 100th Turn the Key house sold in two years since the program launched.

City leaders gathered with Hinton in Brewerytown on Friday to celebrate the milestone.

Angel Rodriguez, executive director of the Land Bank, said 450 houses for the Turn the Key program are currently under construction. The amount approved for construction is even more.

“We’ve approved over 700, almost 800 homes now,” he said. “On average, our homebuyer is making about $45,000 a year.”

Turn the Key is said to be a step toward Mayor Cherelle Parker’s goal to build and preserve 30,000 units of affordable housing in her first term.

She was also in attendance to cut the ribbon in front of Hinton’s new home in Brewerytown.

"I can't wait to cut the ribbon for the 500th Turn the Key home in the city of Philadelphia," she said.