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Affordable Housing in Fishtown: LIHTC Projects and Demographic Shifts
CATEGORY
Affordable Housing
DATA
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
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Affordable Housing
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
Fishtown, a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has an affordable housing landscape supported by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. The neighborhood contains 29 total units in LIHTC-funded projects, with 28 designated as low-income units. Based on the 2022 population of 18,712 and using the national average household size, there are approximately 7,169 housing units in Fishtown. The LIHTC-funded affordable housing comprises about 0.4% of the estimated housing inventory in the neighborhood.
The LIHTC program has invested $245,232 in tax credits for affordable housing projects in Fishtown. This equates to an average federal funding of approximately $8,456 per unit. Fishtown has had LIHTC-funded affordable housing projects since at least 1989, with the earliest known projects completed that year at 2369 E Cumberland St and 2542 Sepviva St. The most recent project with a known completion date is 1050 E Montgomery Ave, finished in 1991. This indicates that affordable housing has been present in Fishtown for over three decades.
The 1980s saw the most affordable housing projects completed in Fishtown, with two projects finalized in 1989. The LIHTC-funded housing stock in the neighborhood includes a mix of unit types: 1 efficiency, 11 one-bedroom units, 5 two-bedroom units, 6 three-bedroom units, and 3 four-bedroom units. This range of unit sizes suggests an effort to accommodate various household compositions within the affordable housing framework.
Over the past decade, Fishtown has experienced significant demographic changes. The population has grown from 16,600 in 2015 to 18,712 in 2022, an increase of about 12.7%. Simultaneously, the median income has risen from $59,900 in 2015 to $85,180 in 2022, representing a 42.2% increase. This substantial income growth may partially explain the lack of new LIHTC projects in recent years, as the neighborhood's overall economic profile has improved.
Racial demographics have also shifted slightly. The neighborhood remains predominantly white, but the proportion has decreased from 87% in 2015 to 81% in 2022. There have been small increases in Asian, Black, and Hispanic populations, with the Hispanic population showing the most notable growth from 4% to 10% during this period. These changes indicate a gradual diversification of the neighborhood.
Fishtown's LIHTC-funded affordable housing inventory, while limited, has been a long-standing feature of the neighborhood since the late 1980s. The mix of unit sizes indicates an attempt to cater to diverse household needs. However, the lack of recent LIHTC projects coincides with significant population growth, substantial increases in median income, and slight shifts in racial demographics. These trends suggest a changing economic landscape in Fishtown, which may influence future affordable housing needs and development strategies in the neighborhood.
