PHILADELPHIA — As the city’s political machine gears up for next month’s mayoral primary, U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans announced that he has requested more than $23.7 million in federal community project funding for a number of initiatives in the city.
The 15 Philadelphia projects Evans, D-3rd District, has targeted for funding touch on a number of the city’s community needs, including worker training, small business growth and pedestrian safety, with the largest category of potential funding being housing which saw Evans request $9,400,149 in funds designated for seven housing initiatives across the city.
“Philadelphia’s great need for affordable housing continues to be a top priority for me. In December, I secured $5,925,000 in federal funding for four Philadelphia projects to increase or preserve affordable housing. Even with the change in control of the House of Representatives, I hope that we can eventually reach a bipartisan agreement on appropriations legislation like the one in December that included 14 of my federal funding requests for Philadelphia,” Evans said in a statement last week.
“We always have to pass a spending agreement at some point to keep government services available for the people — and avoid a government shutdown! And the previous two rounds of Community Project Funding have benefited both Democratic and Republican districts across the country, so I’m optimistic that we can continue that success,” Evans said.
Following an open application period for local organizations and agencies, Evans followed his footsteps of the last two years and made the 15 requests to the House Appropriations Committee in hopes of finding similar success in gaining funding. The previous two years saw Evans requests receive a total of nearly $23 million in federal funding for a variety of similar projects.
The 15 projects Evans requested funding for include:
- $2 million for Compassion Senior Living
- $2 million for Beech Senior Apartments
- $1.9 million for Opportunities Apartments
- $1.18 million for Bringing the Future of Work to Disconnected Workers
- $1 million for LA ERIC (Lancaster Ave.-Entrepreneurship Resource and Innovation Center)
- $500,000 for Vaux Community Building Auditorium Renovation
- $2 million for Abigail Pankey Apartments
- $3 million for Beacon of Hope Affordable Housing Workforce Development, Transit Assisted Design by VETMOTO
- $3.5 million for Lower North Affordable Project
- $900,000 for The Apartments at 40th Street Place
- $923,000 for Mt. Airy/Germantown Streetscape Improvement and Reconnection
- $900,000 for ELEVATE – Strawberry Mansion Neighborhood Schoolyard Redevelopment
- $300,000 for Philly Schools Tree Canopy
- $1.6 million for Lamberton Schoolyard Improvement Project
- $2 million for 52nd Street Streetscape Improvement
“While the new, narrow House Republican majority limited project eligibility this year, my staff and I worked hard to comply with the new rules and choose suitable projects that would benefit several neighborhoods across the district,” Evans said.