{"value"=>"<p>The St. Philip's Housing Corporation files detail the church's real estate interests and ownership of over 600 apartments near the church. The church had purchased apartments on 135th Street in 1911, foreshadowing the migration of many African Americans from elsewhere in New York City and from the Southern United States to Harlem. By the end of the 1970s, St. Philip's operated the St. Philip's Senior House, St. Philip's on the Park, and apartments on West 135th Street.</p> <p>Pastor Moran Weston acted as president of the St. Philip's Housing Corporation; Dallas Selsey, the director of the St. Philip's Community Council and the church's development officer, served as vice president and secretary. The church's rental properties provided both the financial means to carry out the church's functions and programs and a practical way to directly improve the lives of Harlem residents. Professional management companies oversaw the properties' day-to-day operations under the direction of several boards of directors. African American architects Henri A. LeGendre and Percy Ifill were employed for the rehabilitation of the rental properties and church's community center. Because the church sought to hire African American businesses, there are several lists of minority contractors in these files.</p> <p>The records chronicle administrative and financial matters, construction and rehabilitation projects, and the church's cooperation with federal, state, and city agencies to finance and administer the housing, specifically the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (through which St. Philip's submitted a Section 202/8 Proposal) and the Federal Housing Administration; the New York City Department of Buildings and Human Resources Administration; and the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal.</p> <p>Blueprints and correspondence with contractors and architects show site specifications and building plans; correspondence with elected officials, city agencies, and architects explain proposals for the properties; financial reports reveal the real estate's effect on church finances. Files for the boards of directors contain meeting agendas, minutes and related correspondence.</p>"}