Spencer Tee

Spencer Homes / Spencer Street Projects  

Opened in June 1952 on the site of an old plant nursery at North 30th and Spencer Streets, Spencer Homes originally offered 165 units (later expanded) for African American families displaced by post-WWII layoffs and housing shortages. Designed by Leo A. Daly, the complex fostered tight-knit community ties despite challenges; civil rights leader Ernie Chambers lived there in the 1970s. In 1981, 57 units were razed to build the North Freeway, literally splitting the neighborhood in two. Long plagued by the same maintenance and crime issues as its neighbors, the remaining buildings were fully demolished beginning in fall 2022 with federal funding. The site is now rising as Kennedy Square East, a mixed-income development of apartments, townhomes, and single-family houses designed so affordable and market-rate units look identical.