PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - April 25, 2017) - At a community meeting, here, this evening, at Cobbs Creek Recreation Center, 63rd and Spruce Streets, AJR Endeavors LLC, the developers selected during the city of Philadelphia's recent RFP process to rehabilitate 36 housing units in the 6200 blocks of Osage Avenue and Pine Street, which were impacted in the City's response to the 1985 MOVE Incident, described their extensive qualifications for successfully completing the project, shared information about several of their principals' previously completed residential developments, and explained their timetable for initiating and completing the project.
AJR Endeavors emphasized that it intends to work very closely with neighborhood residents to gain input on its design concepts, and to provide ongoing progress reports to the community. AJR also explained that the company is committed to including trained and experienced Cobbs Creek and West Philadelphia residents as members of the construction workforce, and as project vendors, with 30 percent and 5 percent goals, respectively, for inclusion of minority and female businesses.
The principals of AJR Endeavors, each of whom is a Philadelphia resident, include Anthony Fullard, who began a 20+ year career in construction as a union iron worker and who went on to establish the first African-American-owned steel erection company in Philadelphia. Fullard served, for six years, as director of economic development for Philadelphia's African American Chamber of Commerce, and currently serves as executive project manager for the $8 million Allegheny East SDA Conference Corporation's capital works project, in Ivy Hill.
In addition to Fullard, another AJR principal is James Robertson, a real estate developer with 10 years of experience in Philadelphia and Delaware County, with a focus in affordable housing, new construction, and commercial sales and development. Robertson has participated in the development and sale of more than $60 million in Philadelphia real estate, over the past two years, including projects in Fishtown, Manayunk, Northern Liberties, Point Breeze and Port Richmond.
AJR's third principal is Rodney Ross, a licensed realtor and founder of The Ross Team at Keller Williams Realty. He has been involved in more than 100 real estate transactions during his career, and is an active real estate investor, focused on a portfolio of single and multi-family properties, in Philadelphia.
In their remarks to community residents, AJR's principals emphasized that, notwithstanding the recent announcements regarding their selection in the RFP process, the developers are still very much in the early stages of the city of Philadelphia's acquisition and approval timeline. They've been advised that the procedures may extend for as long as nine months, before they will be authorized to begin the actual rehabilitation of the 36 housing units, which is expected to extend over a 24-month period.