of around $1,100 to $1,200. It’s less than what people are paying to rent studios in the same area, where they still need to come up with thousands of dollars upfront for deposits.” The implications for working families are profound. Typical buyers earn between $23 and $25 per hour. For households at that income level, building savings for a traditional down payment is increasingly out of reach in the face of rising everyday costs, from groceries to utilities. Turn the Key not only breaks that barrier, it sets them on a path to long-term wealth. “If you’re making $50,000 a year, you’re barely keeping your head above water,” Rushdi says.“Under this program, within fifteen years you could have between $250,000 and $400,000 in equity. That’s life-changing. It’s a pathway out of poverty and a way to create real economic mobility.” The current plan envisions 1,000 to 2,000 such homes, with potential growth to 5,000 under the city’s broader $800 million housing bond program, which the BIA strongly supported. All told, those homes could impact upwards of 20,000 residents, giving them a way to benefit from the very development reshaping their neighborhoods. DIVERSITY, CAPITAL ACCESS, AND THE ACCELERATOR FUND Equity and inclusion in the development community itself is another area where the BIA has taken a hands-on, results-driven approach. Rushdi is candid about what he sees as the shortcomings of traditional diversity efforts. “A lot of organizations handle diversity in a very superficial way,” he says.“They count the percentage of minority members, set a goal to increase that number, host a few seminars, and then declare success. As an engineer, I deal in numbers and outcomes. That doesn’t actually improve people’s lives.” Instead, the BIA set out to change the structural barriers that prevent Black and brown developers from scaling. The core problem, Rushdi notes, is access to capital, particularly equity. To do a $2.5 25 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 12 PHILADELPHIA BUILDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
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