RHLS continues its longtime partnership with the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC), this time on the Winter Street development project. Senior Staff Attorney, Kelly Prokop, and Senior Counsel, Judy Berkman, worked on the deal that will bring six new affordable homes to the Chinatown neighborhood in downtown Philadelphia with a business incubator on the first floor.
RHLS assisted with the negotiation with the zoning board and drafted the General Contractor agreement, negotiating the terms and drawing up the final contract, including several amendments. The work also included a drafted agreement with a neighbor permitting access to their property to do the underpinning work on the site.
Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation has been in the neighborhood since the 1960s, advocating for Chinatown’s health and community development. PCDC has built over 400 affordable homes for its residents. In addition, the CDC provides critical supportive services to the residents of the city’s Chinatown. RHLS has been working with PCDC for over thirty years, beginning with an old Redevelopment Authority agreement that had kept them from selling a property.
The Winter Street project is part of a larger strategic plan to build more affordable supportive housing and support small businesses in the area. The development is located just by the Vine Street Expressway and will be a part of the city project to reunite the main part of the neighborhood with the Northern end, which is divided by the highway.
Importantly for city residents, the famous mural, History of Chinatown, at 10th and Winter will be relocated as part of the project. This local substack article explains more about how the community decided where to move it to its new home on the Man An House.
John Chin, the Executive Director of PCDC gave a special shout-out to Judy Berkman, who has represented PCDC for much of their time working with RHLS.
Judy Berkman and John Chin at the Crane Tower (l) and Winter Street (r)
Judy Berkman is honored by the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation in 2017
We are grateful for our continued partnership with Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation and look forward to building more affordable housing while preserving the neighborhood.