The resolution, expected to pass the same day, is what Gauthier describes as a "minor escalation" aimed chiefly at securing city funding for a potential sale that would keep the homes permanently affordable. Parker's formal announcement in August, released after more than a year of relative silence, committed the administration to finding a way to save the properties but did not promise a specific dollar amount.

"This is almost 1,000 units of affordable housing in some of the most desirable neighborhoods in West and Southwest Philadelphia," Gauthier said in an interview. "We cannot rebuild this opportunity."

The portfolio belongs to Neighborhood Restorations, an affordable housing developer, and consists mostly of single-family homes built in the 1990s and 2000s with federal tax credits that have kept rents affordable for decades. More than 3,000 residents rent from the portfolio, many of them long-term tenants who fear displacement if the properties are sold to a market-rate developer.

The administration has said it wants to focus first on preserving 225 rentals whose affordability restrictions have already expired. The remaining 700 units will lose their restrictions over the next decade, potentially giving the city more time to arrange what is expected to be a series of deals.

Angela Brooks, the city's chief housing and urban development officer, said the administration is working with owner Jim Levin on what a deal might look like and a potential timeline. "One thing I know for sure, Jim is not interested in kind of piecemealing it. He wants to have this happen in one or as few transactions as possible," Brooks said.

It remains unclear how much the city is willing to invest. Philadelphia generally does not buy properties outright, but it has helped finance transactions by subsidizing developers, allowing the city to avoid taking ownership. Brooks said the administration is "starting to hear from potential people who are interested in portions of the portfolio" and is also exploring homebuying opportunities for existing tenants. Levin did not respond to a request for comment; he has previously said he is in "no hurry" to reach a deal and would either hold the properties for years or sell them on the open market if no agreement materializes.

Gauthier argues the money is already available. A report from the City Controller's Office found that, as of Sept. 30, the Parker administration had spent only $38 million of the $278 million City Council approved for the first 16 months of the H.O.M.E. initiative — just over 13% of the total. The unspent funds are believed to include about $46 million earmarked for affordable housing preservation.

Gauthier is calling on the administration to commit at least $36 million in H.O.M.E. funding over the next three years, a substantial share of the expected sale price and a figure in line with a recommendation from a steering committee convened to discuss the sale. She wants a funding commitment by the end of the year.

"We have to show that we did the right thing by passing this initiative, and we have to make it count by actually spending the money and working in a collaborative way," said Gauthier, who chairs Council's housing committee.

Brooks, however, said the goal is to outline a "firm path forward" during the first quarter of 2027. "There has been an inflated sense of urgency around kind of where we are, which just simply does not exist at the moment," she said.

Meanwhile, a grassroots campaign is pressing the mayor to do more than pledge support. "Why is this such a difficult decision to make when the money is there?" said Fredrica Lightford, who has rented a duplex near Cobbs Creek for the last seven years.

The standoff comes as Parker seeks to ramp up spending under her $2 billion housing plan, and as tenants and advocates warn that the loss of the Neighborhood Restorations homes would be irreversible in neighborhoods where affordable family-sized rentals are already scarce.