For eight years, Segal and others have been working to create affordable housing that's friendly to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals who are 62 or older and below a certain income level.
Segal on Friday will join with state, federal and city officials as well as gay-rights pioneers for the groundbreaking of a $19.5 million, six-story apartment complex of 56 one-bedroom units on 13th Street, between Spruce and Locust in Philadelphia's "Gayborhood."
The building will also have 2,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space facing 13th Street as well as a 5,000 square-foot courtyard for residents. It is expected to be completed next December.
Segal noted that the building will be "LGBT-friendly," and residents don't have to be gay.
"We are a community that has been discriminated against; we would not even consider discriminating against anybody else," said the 61-year-old activist.
Segal said the LGBT-rights movement "is building a community. Just as there is an African-American community and a Jewish community, there's also a gay community."
That already includes a community center, churches, synagogues, a youth center, sports teams and a health center.
"But the last frontier is dealing with our endangered senior citizens," Segal said. "No one has cared about our senior citizens, and this is an attempt to change that."
The development has received financial support from Mayor Nutter, former Gov. Ed Rendell and U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, who are all expected to attend Friday.
Contact Valerie Russ at russv@phillynews.com or 215-854-5987. Follow her on Twitter @ValerieRussDN.
