Drueding Center
Leveraging Real Estate to Further the Mission
The City of Philadelphia, like many cities across the United States, has a notable number of community members who are living on the street or in temporary shelters on any night throughout the year. The City is working hard to help the unhoused find shelter through its Office of Homeless Services, and nonprofit organizations like Drueding Center are working with individuals and families, providing transitional housing and the critical support services needed to keep them in stable living conditions. Drueding has been serving families in need since its 1986 founding by the Sisters of the Redeemer who were meeting the greatest needs of the community for decades prior. Knowing that it has tremendous opportunity held in its real estate assets, Drueding Center partnered with ULI Philadelphia and ULI’s Homeless to Housed initiative to explore ways the organization can better leverage its real estate assets to serve its mission and the community.
At the same time ULI and Drueding were contemplating the convening of a technical assistance panel (TAP) to study these real estate opportunities, the City announced the de-prioritization of funding for transitional housing citywide, the very manner of housing which represents a significant portion of Drueding Center’s work and all of the services provided in its residential building. This new funding challenge was folded into the TAP study and the ULI members selected to serve on the panel were keenly aware of this added complexity. Informed by two days of touring, stakeholder interviews, and meetings with Drueding leadership, the panel identified six key opportunities for Drueding Center and a series of guiding principles it should use to guide its work in the coming years. Change can be difficult, but Drueding Center and its extremely capable staff and board have demonstrated an admirable ability to continue to shift and evolve the organization’s service offerings to best meet the needs of the community. This is yet another of those opportunities. With the strong leadership already in place, the strength of the organization’s reputation, and the support of key outside real estate experts, this next chapter for Drueding Center will be an important step in its continuing mission to meet the greatest need in the community.
Report Summary: The City of Philadelphia, like many cities across the United States, has a notable number of community members who are living on the street or in temporary shelters on any night throughout the year. The City is working hard to help the unhoused find shelter through its Office of Homeless Services, and nonprofit organizations like Drueding Center are working with individuals and families, providing transitional housing and the critical support services needed to keep them in stable living conditions. Drueding has been serving families in need since its 1986 founding by the Sisters of the Redeemer who were meeting the greatest needs of the community for decades prior. Knowing that it has tremendous opportunity held in its real estate assets, Drueding Center partnered with ULI Philadelphia and ULI’s Homeless to Housed initiative to explore ways the organization can better leverage its real estate assets to serve its mission and the community.
At the same time ULI and Drueding were contemplating the convening of a technical assistance panel (TAP) to study these real estate opportunities, the City announced the de-prioritization of funding for transitional housing citywide, the very manner of housing which represents a significant portion of Drueding Center’s work and all of the services provided in its residential building. This new funding challenge was folded into the TAP study and the ULI members selected to serve on the panel were keenly aware of this added complexity. Informed by two days of touring, stakeholder interviews, and meetings with Drueding leadership, the panel identified six key opportunities for Drueding Center and a series of guiding principles it should use to guide its work in the coming years. Change can be difficult, but Drueding Center and its extremely capable staff and board have demonstrated an admirable ability to continue to shift and evolve the organization’s service offerings to best meet the needs of the community. This is yet another of those opportunities. With the strong leadership already in place, the strength of the organization’s reputation, and the support of key outside real estate experts, this next chapter for Drueding Center will be an important step in its continuing mission to meet the greatest need in the community.