A new era of environmentally friendly public housing was ushered in when the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) opened Nellie Reynolds Gardens, a 64-apartment building for seniors with an adult daily-living center, in North Philadelphia in November.
Ceremonies were held in the building’s indoor garden under a large glass atrium, where new residents were joined by then-U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Steve Preston, who came to help celebrate PHA’s latest public-private partnership, costing $21.2 million.
The building features a 20,000-square-foot “green” roof with natural vegetation that absorbs rainwater and prevents it from running off into an already over-taxed city sewer system. The green roof also retains heat during the winter and has a cooling effect in the summer, reducing energy usage by approximately 15 percent. The center includes “Green Label” carpet (for improved indoor air quality), environmentally friendly paints and primers and ENERGY STAR appliances and fixtures.