The Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, founded in 1727, is Philadelphia’s fourth oldest surviving congregation. Old First has been providing shelter for people in its social hall each winter since 1984 and also hosts a breakfast and clothing cupboard serving 80 people each week.  

Continuing this mission, Old First has partnered with nonprofit developer Community Ventures to repurpose an underutilized portion of the property adjacent to the existing historic church building. The development partners engaged O Z Collaborative and its team of consultants to design the project. The planned new building will meet Passive House standards and include 34 efficiency apartments to provide permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless people, as well as church offices, classrooms, and ground-level commercial space.  

The proposed redevelopment plan is also a thoughtful response to the property’s listing in the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, including moving an historic rowhouse southward from its current location to place it adjacent to other historic structures. The new construction of a five-story mixed-use building at the northwest corner of the site will reestablish the density on the parcel which existed during the Old City historic district’s period of significance and create new landscaped spaces between the old and new buildings that both residents and church congregants can enjoy.