ABOUT US

Philadelphia Accelerator Fund is a nonprofit loan fund created in 2019 to invest in affordable housing and equitable neighborhoods for Philadelphia. PAF provides flexible financing for affordable housing and works to increase access to capital for historically disadvantaged groups, with a focus on Black and Brown developers. PAF’s products and services are designed to be flexible and impactful. They can be used for a variety of project types, including mixed-use and mixed income. PAF strives to do things differently: reviewing projects based on their social impact, focusing on reversing traditional capital access barriers, and providing support services to help developers and projects get the capital they need.

DEVELOPER RESOURCES
INVESTOR RESOURCES

GOALS OF PHILADELPHIA ACCELERATOR FUND

  • Provide access to capital for historically disadvantaged groups, with a focus on Black and Brown developers.
  • Provide new sources of flexible capital for the production and preservation of affordable housing in Philadelphia.
  • Provide financing to fill project gaps and to leverage financing from conventional sources.
  • Contribute toward overcoming Philadelphia’s affordability challenges and systemic constraints that have led to unequal distribution of resources.
  • Provide business support services for borrowers to ensure they have the resources they need to succeed.

GOALS OF PHILADELPHIA ACCELERATOR FUND

  • Provide access to capital for historically disadvantaged groups, with a focus on Black and Brown developers.
  • Provide new sources of flexible capital for the production and preservation of affordable housing in Philadelphia.
  • Provide financing to fill project gaps and to leverage financing from conventional sources.
  • Contribute toward overcoming Philadelphia’s affordability challenges and systemic constraints that have led to unequal distribution of resources.
  • Provide business support services for borrowers to ensure they have the resources they need to succeed.

SOCIAL IMPACT

PAF’s mission is to support the production and preservation of affordable housing and community development projects in the City of Philadelphia to benefit low-income people and low-income communities.

PAF seeks to carry out its mission by offering financial products to increase opportunities for:

  • Historically disadvantaged groups with a focus on Black and Brown developers
  • Smaller-scale developers
  • Nonprofit developers
  • Projects with deep housing affordability and/or permanent affordability
  • Projects that provide affordability with minimal public subsidy

MARKET ALIGNMENT

PAF partners with borrowers who share a strong social-impact focus, and who are committed to the equitable development of Philadelphia’s communities.

The primary project types that will be served by PAF’s products are:

  • Naturally occurring affordable and workforce production and preservation
  • Mixed-income and mixed-use projects in under-served communities
  • Subsidized affordable housing production and preservation

PAF seeks to incorporate flexible terms and underwriting standards, to provide opportunities for projects in neighborhoods with lower property values, and for developers with smaller balance sheets. PAF intends to serve several market segments that each play an important role in Philadelphia’s affordable housing ecosystem.

KEY STAFF

E

GREGORY HELLER

Gregory Heller is Executive Director of Philadelphia Accelerator Fund and Senior Vice President of Community Investment at Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC), where he manages the agency’s affordable housing products and programs. In FY2020 PHDC had over $92M of funds invested in projects in pre-development or construction, representing over 2,300 new or preserved housing units.

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PHDC has sought to innovate new approaches to affordable housing investment, including in 2019 when PHDC’s workforce housing program was recognized with the Urban Land Institute’s national Robert H. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award. Previously Greg served as CEO of American Communities Trust, working with clients in over 25 U.S. cities on social-impact real estate development and investment; as a Senior Advisor at Econsult Solutions, an economics consulting group; and as Director of the Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation. Greg serves on the Urban Land Institute’s national Public-Private Partnership Product Council. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

KEY STAFF

E

GREGORY HELLER

Gregory Heller is Executive Director of Philadelphia Accelerator Fund and Senior Vice President of Community Investment at Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC), where he manages the agency’s affordable housing products and programs. In FY2020 PHDC had over $92M of funds invested in projects in pre-development or construction, representing over 2,300 new or preserved housing units.

READ MORE

PHDC has sought to innovate new approaches to affordable housing investment, including in 2019 when PHDC’s workforce housing program was recognized with the Urban Land Institute’s national Robert H. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award. Previously Greg served as CEO of American Communities Trust, working with clients in over 25 U.S. cities on social-impact real estate development and investment; as a Senior Advisor at Econsult Solutions, an economics consulting group; and as Director of the Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation. Greg serves on the Urban Land Institute’s national Public-Private Partnership Product Council. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mohamed “Mo” Rushdy (Chair)

Managing Partner,
The Riverwards Group

 

Kafi Lindsay (Vice Chair)

Regional Community Development Manager,
TD Bank

 

Charles Lomax (Treasurer)

Chairman & CEO, Lomax Real Estate Partners

 

Dr. Jennifer Bellot (Secretary)

Associate Dean of Academic-Practice Integration,
Jefferson College of Nursing

Paul Badger

President & CEO,
The Badger Group

 

Dana Brown

President of Consumer Services,
Univest Bank and Trust Co.

 

Vidhi Anderson

Director of Housing,
HumanGood

 

Suzanne S. Mayes, Esq.

Co-Chair, Public & Project Finance, Cozen O’Connor

Matthew Stitt

Director, PFM Group Consulting LLC

EX OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS

Anne Fadullon

Director, Philadelphia Department of Planning & Development

 

Karen Fegely

Deputy Director,
Philadelphia Department of Commerce

David Thomas

President,
Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation

 

Jennifer Lucas Crowther

Vice President of Product and Resource Development, PIDC

Robert McDermott

CFO, Philadelphia City Council

 

FOR INVESTORS

FOR DEVELOPERS

CONTACT

1234 Market Street, 16th Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19107

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