Old First House - Permanent Supportive Housing

Philadelphia, PA

Old First Reformed United Church of Christ has served the Old City community since 1727, providing shelter, meals, and essential services to individuals experiencing homelessness. Building on this legacy, the church sought to create permanent housing on an underutilized portion of its property. Community Ventures led the development of a supportive housing project designed to integrate residential, community, and congregational uses within a historically sensitive site. The project required alignment with PHFA standards and careful consideration of the Old City Historic District.

O Z Collaborative designed a five-story, mixed-use building that provides 34 efficiency apartments for formerly homeless individuals. The program includes shared kitchen and dining spaces, church offices, classrooms, and a ground-floor commercial space that supports neighborhood activity. The building was designed to meet Passive House standards, improving energy performance, durability, and indoor environmental quality. The design also responds to the historic context by reestablishing appropriate density and maintaining compatibility with surrounding structures. A historic 18th-century rowhouse was relocated to preserve the integrity of the streetscape. Landscaped open spaces connect the new building with the existing church, creating shared outdoor areas for residents and congregants. The project provides permanent supportive housing while reinforcing the church’s long-standing role as a community resource.

Photographed by Matt Wargo

Old First Reformed United Church of Christ & Community Ventures

< Residential

Urban street corner with a modern multi-story building, historic brick building, crosswalks, parked cars, traffic lights, and trees under a clear blue sky.
Rendering of a city street intersection with a multi-story building on the corner, surrounding trees, pedestrians, and parked cars under a partly cloudy sky.
A modern city street scene with a brick building on the left and a contemporary gray apartment building with large windows on the right. There are trees, a brick-paved sidewalk, and a person walking in the background under a bright blue sky.
A modern mixed-use building with a café on the ground floor, large windows, and multiple floors, situated next to an older brick building with arched windows. There are trees, chairs, and people walking in the sidewalk area in front of the buildings
An outdoor courtyard area between modern and brick buildings with trees, garden beds, a picnic table with an umbrella, brick pavement, and metal railing.
City street with modern and historic buildings, small trees, and clear blue sky.
Drawing of a city street with buildings, cars, pedestrians, and trees under a blue sky with clouds.
Modern hotel lobby with a reception desk, blue accent wall, wooden bench, framed photos on the wall, and large windows at the back letting in natural light.
A modern communal kitchen and dining area with wooden floors, black cabinets, stainless steel appliances, a breakfast bar, and tables with chairs, decorated with a vase of flowers near large windows.
A corridor with doorways and framed pictures, leading to an area with two black chairs with red cushions and a wooden side table, on a green accent wall in a building interior.
A city street scene at night with a modern multi-story brick building, traffic lights, moving cars creating light streaks, traffic signs, parked cars, and illuminated windows against a dark sky, with a bright full moon.
City skyline with tall buildings and a partly cloudy sky, foreground features solar panels on a rooftop.
A digital render of an urban sidewalk scene with people strolling and relaxing. There are trees, a brick planter with bushes, and modern buildings with large windows, one of which has a red awning with part of a sign visible. The weather is sunny wit
A modern multi-story building with a brick and beige facade, large windows, and a commercial space on the ground floor. The scene includes trees, pedestrians walking, and a church with a red brick exterior and a circular window in the background unde