A decade after it was first picked to redevelop the old Germantown YWCA, KBK Enterprises is still waiting on the money that would let it start work. The Ohio-based developer wants to turn the vacant building next to Vernon Park into 51 affordable apartments for older adults, but the plan depends on low-income housing tax credits it hasn't secured yet (via WHYY).
KBK president and CEO Keith Key laid out the plan at a virtual community meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 28. He told the crowd the company is going after 4% credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and hopes to have them by the end of the year. The 4% award isn't competitive and has no fixed deadline, but PHFA's board still has to approve it, WHYY reported.
"We think this is a big piece of the puzzle to be able to attract some equity in the project," Key said.
If the credits come through in December, Key expects construction to begin six to eight months after that, or roughly mid-2027. He put the total cost at about $20 million.
The four-story project would mix studios with one- and two-bedroom units, all aimed at renters earning 60% of the area median income or less. For a single person, WHYY put that cap at $51,540 a year. The plan also includes ground-floor commercial space, an outdoor terrace, a garden and a redone parking lot.
The 51-unit count isn't new. PHFA's list of 9% tax credit applications received in January 2024 shows a "Germantown YWCA" project in Philadelphia with 51 units for residents 62 and older, requesting $1,431,000 in credits (PHFA). The Germantown Info Hub reported that bid failed in July 2024 and that KBK's site-control letter from the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority ran out at the end of that year.
The building at 5820-24 Germantown Ave. was designed by Harris & Rush, with the YWCA seeking bids for the job in 1914, according to the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings database. The Y has been empty since 2006, according to the Germantown Info Hub, and it was damaged by fire in 2012. That same year the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections declared it imminently dangerous, PhillyVoice reported in 2016.
The PRA, which now owns the building, chose KBK in 2016. Back then the plan was much smaller: 24 apartments, half affordable and half market-rate, with commercial and office space on the first two floors and a target finish date of summer 2019, according to PhillyVoice.
The PRA cut ties with KBK in 2021 after residents pushed for a fresh round of bids, but that new round never happened, WHYY reported. In 2023, developer Ken Weinstein asked a court to name him conservator of the property under Act 135, the state law aimed at blighted and abandoned buildings. Judge Ann Butchart ruled against him in November 2024, finding his team hadn't shown the building was abandoned or blighted when the petition was filed, according to the Germantown Info Hub.
In February 2025, PRA board chair David Thomas told the Info Hub he didn't expect the agency to back a 4% credit application, saying, "I don't think that's going to happen." KBK is now pursuing exactly that.
Tax credits aren't the only hurdle. The city still has to review site plans, and City Council has to pass a resolution before KBK can take ownership. That resolution would come from Councilmember Cindy Bass, whose district includes the building. Bass supports the project, and WHYY noted KBK has donated to her campaign.
"I think that going forward with this project right now is the right thing to do," Bass said.
Not everyone at the meeting was convinced. "It's so hard to have any confidence, any trust that this is going to work out," said longtime resident Ann Marie Doley.
Why it matters for Contractors
This is a roughly $20 million rehab of a century-old building that's been empty for about 20 years and was declared imminently dangerous back in 2012. Tax credit financing also tends to come with extra paperwork and compliance for whoever builds it. No general contractor or architect has been named publicly for the current plan, and we didn't find any zoning or design review filings for the address on the city's site.
For small shops, there's nothing to bid on yet, and this project has stalled before. The signals worth watching are a PHFA board vote on the 4% credits, a Council resolution from Bass and site plans landing with the city. Until those line up, file it under maybe.