Gov. Josh Shapiro and former Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean “Shady” McCoy are vowing to work together on other affordable housing projects after the opening of JMB Gardens in Harrisburg’s Uptown neighborhood.
“We are proud in the commonwealth to be your teammates on this,” Shapiro said in a newly released video discussion between the two. “You led the play, and you scored the touchdown, but we invested in this place because we agree with you.”
Shapiro said that communities “need more affordable housing. There’s dignity in being able to live with a roof over your head, in a safe community where you can age with dignity if you’re a senior, you can grow up with dignity if you’re a child.”
McCoy, a two-time Super Bowl champion, said once he retired from the NFL and started working through his Shades of Greatness foundation on community projects and building homes, he realized what his grandmother was talking about years ago when she told him to have a purpose in life.
“This whole time this is what my grandma was talking about, purpose,” McCoy told Shapiro. “I have a true purpose and a responsibility and an obligation to go back home, where I’m from, and to develop the neighborhood and help the people.”
Named for McCoy’s grandparents, the JMB Gardens project offers 41-units – one, two and three-bedroom options – in the neighborhood he grew up in.
It was developed by McCoy’s firm, Vice Capital, for $16.7 million augmented by $1.3 million from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).
In a news release, Shapiro’s office said the governor has nearly doubled the state’s commitment to the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund, which assisted McCoy’s project, increasing the cap from $60 million to nearly $100 million by 2027 calling for another $10 million increase to PHARE by 2028.
The new funding would help families fix aging homes, help first-time homebuyers with closing costs and build additional affordable housing faster, according to Shapiro’s statement.
McCoy said in the video that there are other housing projects planned for seniors and veterans and the governor promised that the state would continue to work with McCoy’s firm.
“We’re grateful you call this home and we’re grateful for the homes that you’ve built,” Shapiro said. “This is amazing.”
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