U. unveils programs to help employees live in area

Penn will help faculty and stuff purchase or renovate homes as part of an effort to improve University City. In the University's latest attempt to stop faculty members and staff from leaving University City when they leave work for the day, Penn officials unveiled two new programs Monday that give cash incentives for living in the surrounding neighborhood. The Home Ownership Incentive Program -- modeled on a successful program at Yale University -- will provide University faculty members or staff who buy homes in University City and agree to live in the house for at least seven years with either $3,000 for seven years or $15,000 up front for housing costs. And the Home Improvement Loan Program allows those who already own homes in University City to get up to $7,500 in matching funds for exterior home improvements. "We hope the program will increase home ownership in University City, which is very important to increasing stability in the community," said Penn Managing Director of Community Housing Diane-Louise Wormley, who will administer the programs. The programs are the latest of Penn's efforts to improve the surrounding neighborhoods and convince people that University City is an attractive place to live. Other related endeavors include the University City District, the UC Brite program and the University's initiative to buy and renovate dilapidated properties. Penn had previously announced a plan that, in association with Commerce Bank, offers "120 percent loans" to Penn faculty members and staff who buy homes in University City. These loans provide 100 percent of the purchase price, 15 percent of the total costs of housing rehabilitation and 5 percent for closing costs, the expenses incurred in transferring ownership of property. For 30 years, the University has offered another version of the guaranteed mortgage plan, which allows for 105 percent financing for homes in West Philadelphia and 100 percent financing for those located in certain parts of Center City. "The system we established encourages people to not just move to University City, but remain there," said Wormley, a longtime resident of the 4800 block of Regent Street. Although each of the programs currently has a cap of 150 participants, Wormley said she would seek to expand the program if it proves to be more popular than expected. The money for the program come from University general operating funds. The new cash incentive programs remove many of the obstacles that have previously prevented people from buying homes in University City, according to area residents. The high cost of renovations is one of the main barriers people face in buying a home in University City, said History Professor Lynn Lees, a longtime West Philadelphia resident. "The houses are old, they tend to be rather large and require a lot of capital to fix up," Lees said. "But with the new program, people would be able to afford to buy." Lindsay Johnston, the broker-owner of Common Ground Realtors, said he believes many more people will want to buy homes in University City since they know they will have the funds to renovate them immediately. "Usually the prospect of buying a home uses all the money you have, and you have to wait to renovate," Johnston said. "But these initiatives make it so you can live in the house you want now and not five years from now." In addition, the quality of the area's public schools might no longer deter potential home buyers from living in University City, according to Spruce Hill Community Association President Joe Ruane. "It helps because people will be able to use the [extra] money for private schools," Ruane said. Besides bringing in new home buyers, Lees said she hopes the program will "encourage faculty and staff who are renting in the area to make a long-term commitment." But Johnston said that the new program will not be the only reason that more Penn faculty members and staff will choose to live in University City. "In the last couple of years, the neighborhood has been on an upswing," Johnston said. "This [program] will just be another incentive." Penn's cash-incentive program is similar to one that Yale -- another Ivy League school located in a neighborhood that has seen better days -- began in 1994. Yale's program gave $2,000 a year for 10 years to faculty and staff members who bought a home in New Haven, Conn., according to Yale spokesperson Tom Conroy. Yale later limited the program to a few neighborhoods around the campus. About 280 homes have been bought and $5.6 million has been distributed through the program, he said, adding that "our program has been helpful in bringing professionals into the city and turning some properties that had been vacant into occupied homes."

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