01-05-2025
Newly renovated Kings Highway Apartments open to formerly unhoused families in Philadelphia
A once-vacant apartment complex in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood is now a symbol of hope and new beginnings.
City leaders joined local developer Odin Properties in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning to welcome families into the newly renovated Kings Highway Apartments, a 31-unit affordable housing community along Frankford Avenue between Ann and Cambria streets.
Among the new residents are 15 families, some of whom are moving directly out of shelter care, including 37-year-old Claudia Mathieu and her three children.
"She just turned 4," Mathieu said of her daughter, Emmy. "We kept going in and out of the shelter when she was one."
Now, that chapter has ended.
Kings Highway Apartments renovations part of something bigger
Mathieu is one of the first residents to move into the updated apartments, which feature new kitchens, bathrooms and small private yards — part of a collaborative effort by Odin Properties, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the Office of Homeless Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and the Division of Housing and Community Development.
"This is my home," Mathieu said. "I thought I would never have a home, and now I have my home."
The Kings Highway Apartments, originally built in the 1990s, have been completely renovated. The project is more than just new paint and fixtures. It represents a broader commitment to revitalizing the Frankford Avenue corridor and providing long-term solutions to housing insecurity.
Philip Balderston, founder and CEO of Odin Properties, stood with city officials and watched as young Emmy played in her new backyard.
"She had been formerly homeless and now she has a permanent home — a newly renovated townhome with a backyard her kids can play in," Balderston said. "It's unbelievable."
"I really thought I wasn't going to make it"
As a lifelong Philadelphian, Balderston said it's personal.
"Part of it is incumbent upon me to do it if I'm able to," Balderston said.
For Mathieu, the moment is nothing short of transformational.
"I really thought I wasn't going to make it," she said. "I did it. I did it. It was hard — mentally and physically — but I did it."
As her daughter, Emmy, put it simply, with a big smile: "I like it, and I love it."
