A man’s body was found inside a dilapidated West Philadelphia senior housing complex Wednesday morning, authorities say.
The discovery came a day after city officials touted a $50 million investment into the vacant property, the Brith Sholom House.
Philadelphia police are investigating after the man’s body was found around 5:45 a.m. in the residence, located on the 3900 block of Conshohocken Avenue.
The man, whom police did not identity, was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:40 a.m.
Officials have yet to determine the cause and manner of his death.
A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Housing Authority said the authority was aware of the incident but did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
On Tuesday, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced that the city’s powerful building trades unions would offer the sizable loan to redevelop Brith Sholom, which the housing authority purchased from its former owners in 2024 in order to preserve it.
Prior to the sale, tenants had complained of rampant neglect and repeated code violations, including deteriorating infrastructure, threats of utility shutoffs, squatters, and severe pest infestations.
After PHA acquired the property, it initially told its 111 residents they could remain in their units. But upon discovering some units were damaged beyond repair, officials told those residents they would need to move out and return at a later date.
The Brith Sholom project, when completed, is expected to add 336 affordable units for seniors on fixed incomes, Parker said in her announcement Tuesday.
The mayor cast the complex’s revival as a first-of-its-kind approach to expanding the city’s affordable housing stock, one that would help her administration reach its goal of building, redeveloping, or preserving 30,000 units.