PHILADELPHIA, PA-U.S. Senator Bob Casey travelled to South Philadelphia today to meet with PHA Executive Director Carl Greene and tour PHA’s Pre- Apprenticeship program before announcing an additional $13.9 million HUD grant for PHA. Joining them was Ed Coryell, head of the local carpenters union. The award is one of many federal grants that the Authority has aggressively pursued in recent months to enhance its public housing and community building mission. The funds will help PHA demolish the outdated Paschall Apartments in southwest Philadelphia and rebuild 100 new housing units and a 4,000 ft. community facility on the site.
PHA’s Pre-Apprenticeship program has earned a national reputation for preparing public housing residents for well paying careers in the building trades such as carpentry, electrical work and painting. PHA is currently putting hundreds of local contractors to work on a host of construction and energy upgrade projects, thanks to $91 million in federal stimulus funding awarded earlier this year and some of those workers are Pre-Apprenticeship program graduates.
“In these troubling economic times, affordable housing and workforce development are more important than ever,” said Senator Casey. “I’m proud to say that PHA is leading the country in this arena, quickly and effectively administering more than $91 million in federal stimulus funds to build quality housing, create jobs and expand economic opportunities here in Philadelphia.”
“With great partners like Senator Bob Casey and HUD, PHA is changing the face of public housing in Philadelphia,” said PHA Executive Director Carl Greene. “We are improving performance, increasing accountability, and utilizing new technologies to leverage these federal dollars to rebuild more neighborhoods, create more jobs and improve more lives.”
“Federal stimulus funds and union carpenters are hard at work here in Philadelphia,” said Ed Coryell, head of the local carpenters union. “With help from HUD, Carl Greene and PHA are putting our members back to work, rebuilding communities and improving Philadelphia’s economy.”
PHA has worked closely with all the building trades in Philadelphia in building thousands of homes since launching the Pre-Apprenticeship program in 1998. The electrical workers, painters, glaziers (window installers), roofers, plumbers, and sheet metal workers are among the unions working hand in hand with PHA.
“This has been an extraordinary partnership between PHA and the building trade unions since day one. Philadelphia’s neighborhoods have seen the positive results that can occur when all sides work toward a common goal,” Greene said.
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