The complex, named the Nayda Cintron Apartments, honors the founder of the Norris Square Civic Association. It will offer apartments reserved for lower-income families, with monthly rents ranging from $250 to $640.

The unit mix is designed with families in mind: 23 of the apartments will have two bedrooms, and 15 will have three bedrooms. The remaining two units were not specified in the announcement. Each apartment will come equipped with new appliances, central air conditioning, and in-unit laundry.

The project arrives as Philadelphia and much of the region continue to grapple with a severe shortage of housing that low- and moderate-income residents can afford. Developments like this one, which pair deeply subsidized rents with family-sized layouts, are relatively rare in the local pipeline, where many new affordable projects skew toward smaller one-bedroom units.

Naming the building for Cintron ties the project to the Norris Square neighborhood's long history of grassroots organizing. The civic association she founded has been a fixture in the area, advocating for residents and working to shape development in a community that has faced pressure from rising housing costs.

It was not immediately clear how the project is being financed or when the first residents are expected to move in. Officials did not release a construction timeline during Tuesday's event.

For families earning modest wages in North Philadelphia, the apartments represent a rare opening: three-bedroom units at rents that in many cases amount to a fraction of typical market rates in the neighborhood. Housing advocates say units at that size and price point are among the hardest to find in the city.

The groundbreaking follows other recent affordable housing openings in the area, including a 44-unit development unveiled in Kensington earlier this year, as public officials and community groups push to add supply amid a persistent affordability crunch.