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Ceremony Held to Celebrate Groundbreaking of New Port Richmond Residential Community

Somerset Station will be a 535-unit residential community with the first phase being 220 units in Port Richmond located at 2200 East Somerset Street in Philadelphia.

The Riverwards Group held a ceremony to commemorate the groundbreaking of its newest residential community, Somerset Station on Monday, March 20, 2023.

The Riverwards Group is an esteemed Philadelphia builder that will be heading the development of Somerset Station, which will be one of their largest projects yet.  


Somerset Station will be a 535-unit residential community with the first phase being 220 units in Port Richmond – 2200 East Somerset Street, Philadelphia, PA 19134.

The new community borders East Kensington on Somerset and Tulip Streets and marks the first multi-family development in the State of Pennsylvania to use expanded C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) funds.

 C-PACE is an innovative financing program launched in 2018 that finances energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements on commercial property. This program will allow for buildings to be more environmentally efficient, more comfortable, and less expensive to operate. 

“I am thrilled that Philadelphia is home to Pennsylvania’s first energy-efficient C-PACE multifamily project,” said Emily Schapira, President & CEO of the Philadelphia Energy Authority, the C-PACE Administrator for Philadelphia. “With this project, we reached the mark of over $100 million dollars of C-PACE investment in Philadelphia to improve building performance, save money, and create good-paying, local jobs.

Notable Philadelphia figures spoke at the ceremony including Jim Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia; Darrell L Clark, Council President; Mark Squilla, Councilmember; Dr. Kevin Gillen, Drexel University Economist; Emily Schapira, Philadelphia Energy Authority President and CEO; Dan Fitzpatrick, President, Mid-Atlantic Region, Citizens.

Every resident, no matter their zip code deserves access to stable affordable housing, safe clean streets, and neighborhood assets like parks, recreation centers, and libraries. It is wonderful to see developers have a commitment to be part of the affordable housing solution and I want to recognize Riverwards Group for making sure everyone has a chance to live in safe quality homes,” said Mayor Kenney.

Councilmember Squilla said: “This location has been a blight in the community for many years, and I am so happy that it will now be transformed into an affordable workforce housing project. This development will improve the neighborhood by making it safer and more vibrant.”

Dan Fitzpatrick spoke saying: “Citizens is pleased to partner with the Riverwards Group to strengthen the Kensington community and catalyze positive change. At Citizens, we are committed to working collaboratively with partners to address critical needs in our communities and to help build strong communities and a sustainable future for all those we serve.” This project was helped made possible through financing from Citizens.

Mo Rushdy and Lawrence McKnight, Managing Partners of Riverwards Group welcomed the crowd of around 50 people to the groundbreaking ceremony. McKnight grew up in the bordering neighborhood of Fishtown and still lives there. He’s “committed to these neighborhoods” and is “proud to be taking a lead with a project of this scale in Port Richmond”.

“It’s not easy to get transformational projects, like Somerset Station, to come to fruition financing-wise. Without CRE funds financing from Citizens and C-PACE funding, we wouldn’t be here today. Riverwards Group has always taken it upon itself to balance development in up-and-coming neighborhoods and make sure that its projects help bring the best out of these neighborhoods and contribute responsibly to its advancement”, says Rushdy.

For more information on The Riverwards Group, please visit their website. Stay up to date by following along on Instagram and Facebook.

For media inquiries and/or interview requests, please contact Lina@PhillyPRGirl.com

RWG is a full-service development company driven by an internal team of qualified real estate professionals whose combined breadth of experience integrates all areas of real estate design and development.

Open and clear communication as well as proficient execution enable us to successfully deliver our commitment to the highest standard that will exceed our customers’ expectations.