THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTER CITY DISTRICT AND CENTRAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION SPRING 2019 CENTER CITY DIGEST

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 State of Center City 2019

4 CCD 2019 Budget Details

5 CCD Honors Employees at Awards Breakfast

6 More to Enjoy at Sister Cities Park

8 Green and Clean in Center City

9 Spring & Summer in CCD Parks

10 Homeless Outreach Teams Return to Center City

11 Now Available: State of Center City 2019

Philly by Drone

counties to live within one mile of a rail in the case of CHOP, adding a major new station, connecting them to Center City’s building in Center City near the South Street State of employers, restaurants, retailers, healthcare Bridge. In fall 2017, Center City’s 14 colleges services, and arts and cultural institutions. and universities reported total enrollment of Center City Center City is also served well by a regional 33,913 students. Adjacent to Center City, an highway network, connecting seamlessly to additional 78,341 students are enrolled at the major routes on the Interstate system. Our Drexel, Penn, Temple, and University of the 2019 international airport is just 15 minutes away.

Philadelphia is enjoying the longest period Diversification is the defining strength of of economic expansion since the end of the downtown’s economy. Professional, business Second World War, adding jobs every year and financial services, real estate and since 2009 – 71,100 in total. The 15,400 jobs information – prime office-using industries – that Philadelphia added in 2018 represents the provide 40%, 121,300 of downtown’s jobs. The city’s biggest one-year gain since the Bureau completion of the 1.8 million-square-foot of Labor Statistics began tabulating statistics Comcast Technology Center and Aramark’s in 1969. 600,000-square-foot expansion at 2400 Market Street pushed Center City’s office inventory up A DIVERSIFIED CENTER FOR to an historic high of 43.5 million square feet. EMPLOYMENT: Education and health services, the largest sector citywide, is the second largest sector Center City is a prime driver of Philadelphia’s downtown, accounting for 20% of downtown’s economy, holding 42% of city jobs. Positioned jobs – 61,000 in total. Thomas Jefferson at the center of a multimodal regional system, University remains Center City’s largest consisting of 13 rail lines, three rapid transit employer with 14,040 employees. Penn lines, five trolley lines and 29 bus routes, Medicine, Drexel University and Children’s transit brings nearly 300,000 passengers Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), anchors downtown every weekday. of the University City economy, have been Public transit makes downtown density steadily migrating toward the Schuylkill This article is adapted from the introduction to the possible and enables more than 1 million River, increasing their presence downtown, State of Center City 2019 report. For more, visit residents of the city and surrounding leasing both office and medical space, and centercityphila.org/socc.

CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 1 CENTER CITY DIGEST

Sciences. Well-connected by multiple modes NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOOD AND REGIONAL RESIDENTS of transportation, thousands of these students live, shop and socialize downtown. WHO WORK DOWNTOWN

Major public and private hospitality investments of the last three decades (the GREATER CENTER CITY JOBS Convention Center, dozens of BY EDUCATION LEVEL new hotels, visitor and cultural destinations) have established Philadelphia as a highly 28,400 37% 33% competitive meeting and tourist destination. WORKERS Promoted by sustained advertising and 30,100 WORKERS 30% marketing campaigns, conventions, trade 79,800 shows, leisure, group and business travel WORKERS FROM SUBURBAN 33% HIGH SCHOOL OR LESS combined to generate 3.5 million hotel room PENNSYLVANIA 26,400 nights. This lifted Center City’s 2018 hotel WORKERS 30% SOME COLLEGE/ASSOCIATE 37% BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR MORE occupancy rate to a modern-day record of 79.6%, even as the room supply increased by GREATER WHERE DOWNTOWN WORKERS LIVE 18%. As a result, Philadelphia added 17,400 26,200 CENTER CITY 32,900 hospitality jobs, an increase of 31% since 2009. WORKERS 305,500 WORKERS FROM JOBS SUBURBAN NEW JERSEY 11% Center City attracted more than 18 million 34,000 48% visitors from across the region and around the RESIDENTS OF GREATER CENTER 41% world to an extraordinary variety of arts and 14,800 CITY WORK DOWNTOWN WORKERS +9,500 cultural activities in 2018. Center City features PARTNERS FREELANCERS SELF-EMPLOYED 354 museums, theaters, dance companies 11% GREATER CENTER CITY and other cultural organizations, placing third 3,300 41% ELSEWHERE IN PHILADELPHIA WORKERS FROM SUBURBAN behind New York City and Washington, D.C. in DELAWARE/MARYLAND 48% OUTSIDE PHILADELPHIA the number of arts and cultural institutions Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Local Employment-Household Dynamics, 2015, Source: U.S. Census Bureau, downtown, surpassing Boston, Chicago, San Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistic s 2018, CCD Estimates Local Employment-Household Dynamics, 2015 Francisco and Seattle.

While Center City is feeling the pressures more than 1.4 million square feet of retail between Vine and South streets, river to affecting retailers nationwide, occupancy under construction, as development surges river. Entertainment, leisure, hospitality, on the prime retail corridors of Walnut and east of Broad Street. restaurants and retail now provide 16% Chestnut streets from Broad to 20th streets of Center City’s jobs. is a healthy 94.6%. It has been sustained While new restaurants and dining districts by Center City’s workers, visitors, students continue to emerge in surrounding AN INCLUSIVE and by a fast-growing, downtown residential neighborhoods, Center City remains the PLACE OF OPPORTUNITY: population. Strong demand is supporting epicenter with 468 full-service restaurants Diverse employment sectors reinforce each other. Together with public sector AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH BY INDUSTRY, 2009–2018 employment, they provide 305,500 wage and salaried positions downtown; 9,500 more individuals are compensated as partners, PHILADELPHIA LARGE US CITIES US NATIONAL PHILADELPHIA MSA AVERAGE* AVERAGE self-employed, or work freelance. Leisure and Hospitality 3.0% 2.4% 3.3% 2.5% Downtown is a highly inclusive place of Mining, Logging and opportunity for residents of all neighborhoods 2.5% 1.1% 2.7% 2.0% Construction in the city: 33% of Center City’s jobs require Professional and Business only a high-school diploma; 30% require an 2.4% 1.4% 3.2% 2.6% Services associates’ degree; 37% require a bachelor’s Education and Health degree or higher. Because these diverse job 2.0% 2.1% 2.8% 2.1% Services offerings are made accessible by SEPTA, an Wholesale, Transportation, average of 25% of the working residents from 0.9% -0.8% 2.0% 1.5% and Utilities every neighborhood in Philadelphia earn their Retail Trade 0.8% 0.8% 1.5% 1.0% livelihood downtown; another 5% work in University City. Other Services 0.7% 0.3% 1.4% 1.0% Information -0.4% -1.2% 2.1% 0.1% Outside of Center City residential neighborhoods, only 10% of neighborhood Financial Activities -0.6% 0.5% 1.6% 1.0% residents work within their own neighborhood; Manufacturing -2.8% 1.4% 0.6% 0.8% but 40% reverse commute to the suburbs,

*This includes the 26 largest cities, with size determined by the number of jobs. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics so more job growth at the center of our

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transportation system is the most HOUSING UNITS IN PROGRESS AND COMPLETED, 2018 effective way to create the most accessible jobs. Currently, Center City is a place of employment for 126,000 neighborhood residents and 34,000 Center City residents; in total 160,000 downtown jobs (52.5%) are held by city residents. PHILADELPHIA FASTEST GROWING RESIDENTIAL AREA: Greater Center City has capitalized on the growing national preference for diverse, walkable, live-work neighborhoods. It has become the fastest growing section of Philadelphia with an estimated 193,000 residents in 2018 – up 22% since 2000. Strong employment growth and positive demographic trends spurred the construction of 26,195 new housing units since 2000, including a record 2,810 in 2018. In the core, between Vine and Pine streets, population growth has been even 12,640 UNITS more pronounced, up 34% in the last 18 years, IN PROGRESS AND COMPLETED 2018 as older office buildings and warehouses 1 51-100 were converted to residential use and new 2-4 101-200 apartment and condominium towers have 5-25 201-500 risen on former parking lots. Single-family 26-50 More than 500 development steadily outpaced condominium Source: Philadelphia Department of Licenses construction in 2018, accounting for 13% and Inspections of new supply; 96% of those units were developed in the extended neighborhoods, where available vacant land, parking lots, industrial and warehouse sites are being neighborhoods that experienced significant to support the costs of renovating them as converted into housing. However, even in these depopulation from the loss of more than owners or renters. As a result, there are extended neighborhoods, apartments account 200,000 manufacturing jobs in the 1970s more than 223,000 cost-burdened households, for 57% of all new supply. and 1980s. The map above shows both units who are paying well in excess of 30% of their completed in 2018 and those currently in income on housing. Since 2010, Philadelphia has added an progress. It graphically depicts how residential average of 7,900 new jobs each year, highly development continues to radiate out from Another 100,000 households making less concentrated in Center City and University City. Center City, facilitated by the Market- than $50,000 per year are not severely The appeal of living within walking distance of Frankford and Broad Street lines that connect cost-burdened, living in “naturally occurring” the city’s two largest employment nodes has these communities to the job centers of affordable housing that they own or rent enabled Philadelphia to expand from a 3% Center City and the campuses of University on the private market. For the near future, share of regional housing permits in the 1990s City and Temple University. This zone of there is a compelling need for the city to find to a 25% share in the last decade, with 81% reinvestment comprises just 17% of the creative ways to finance affordable housing of new units built in or adjacent to Greater city’s geography. without stifling the growth of market rate Center City. housing. Long term, the most effective solution remains raising neighborhood As demand for live-work, amenity-rich EXPANDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING: incomes through more dynamic citywide settings has increased, rents and sales In neighborhoods where new investment job growth, through improved education prices in Greater Center City have risen. is occurring, there are 119 properties with and the training that prepares residents Retired empty nesters, as well as those who 10,959 units of affordable housing in close for 21st-century jobs. continue to work downtown, are moving back proximity to employment in Center City and from the suburbs. Families with children University City. Citywide, there are 33,339 Adapted from the introduction to “graduate” from apartments into rowhouses units of publicly assisted, affordable housing. State of Center City 2019. See page 11 in surrounding areas. These trends have Neighborhoods across the city contain a for more details. accelerated the reinvestment process that large inventory of privately owned, affordable, Paul R. Levy began in the 1960s, as rising prices in the core intact or moderately deteriorated properties. President create a market for moderately priced housing However, too many of these units require at the edges. This has steadily expanded the substantial repairs and too few residents in [email protected] boundaries of the residential downtown into these communities have incomes sufficient

CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 3 WHERE THE MONEY GOES

28% CLEANING OPERATIONS 15% PLIC SAETY 15% PARS 10% STREETSCAPES 10% MARETING & COMMNICATIONS TOTAL EXPENSES 10% ADMINISTRATIVE 5% DET SERVICE 5% DEPRECIATION & CENTER CITY DIGEST AMORTIATION 3% DEVELOPMENT PLANNING & RESEARCH CCD 2019 Budget Details

The top 15 properties pay 22% of total program WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM cost, with an average charge of WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM $380,559 89 ASSESSMENT REVENE 7% PARS & PLAAS INCOME The top 200 properties pay 80% of total 3 EE OR SERVICE program cost, with an average charge of 1% INTEREST GRANTS & $101,923 OTHER REVENE <1% EEMPT PROPERTY CONTRITIONS TOTAL REVENUE The typical Market Street West office building pays $231,881

The average hotel pays WHEREWHERE THE MONEY MONEY GOES GOES $101,925

28% CLEANING OPERATIONS The average Chestnut Street property pays 15% PLIC SAETY $12,550 15% PARS 10% STREETSCAPES The average Walnut Street property pays 10% MARETING & COMMNICATIONS TOTAL EXPENSES $8,475 10% ADMINISTRATIVE 5% DET SERVICE The average commercial property pays 5% DEPRECIATION & AMORTIATION $15,456 3% DEVELOPMENT PLANNING & RESEARCH The average retail property pays $2,984 TOP 10 PROPERTIES BY BILLING AMOUNT IN 2019

RANK PROPERTY NAME 2019 BILLING AMOUNT The average residential property charge is $288 WHERE1 Comcast THE MONEY Center COMES FROM $531,561.62 2 Mellon Bank Center $521,436.20 3 Centre Square $519,328.81 ASSESSMENT REVENE The average for all property types is 89 4 One Liberty Place $466,516.83 7% PARS & PLAAS INCOME 5 Comcast Technology Center $412,783.54 $4,514 3 EE OR SERVICE One Commerce Square $394,404.97 61% INTEREST GRANTS & 7 401OTHER North REVENE Broad Street $375,338.10 <1%8 TwoEEMPT Commerce PROPERTY Square $374,190.68 CONTRITIONS TOTAL REVENUE 9 Philadelphia Marriott Hotel $373,335.13 10 1717 Arch Street $350,058.66 TOTAL $4,318,954.54

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CCD Honors Employees at Awards Breakfast

On March 23 at The Bellevue Hotel, the Center Also speaking at the breakfast was City District held its annual “thank you” and Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau anniversary breakfast for all of its Community (PHLCVB) President and CEO Julie Coker Service Representatives (CSRs), sidewalk Graham, who thanked the CSRs and cleaning cleaners, office staff and Philadelphia police teams for making Center City a welcoming officers assigned to the CCD substation. and attractive destination for the 1.4 million visitors who come to Philadelphia each year. CCD President Paul R. Levy expressed his appreciation to the entire staff for Fashion District Philadelphia’s Robb Parker their commitment and presented awards expressed gratitude to CCD for its work to to 34 CSRs, cleaners, police officers and keep the sidewalks of East Market Street administrative employees recognized for 5, 10, attractive for shoppers and businesses along 15, 20, and 25 years of service. He also noted the burgeoning retail corridor, and told them that the unwavering support of thousands of to get ready for an exciting official grand property owners and businesses, who value opening of the Fashion District in September. the work of CCD’s on-street staff, has enabled the CCD to be reapproved seven times in the last 28 years. Melvin Epps

2019 YEARS OF SERVICE AWARDS

25-YEAR AWARDEES 15-YEAR AWARDEES 5-YEAR AWARDEES Maintenance Maintenance Maintenance Kenneth Adams Joseph Clayberger Tyrell Bennett Michael Brown Robert Williams Jonathan Cothran Sean Clay George Graves Police Rance Legg Michael Josey P/O T. Nong Lo Ronald Wallace Severino Vazquez P/O James Owens Tyrone Wilson Kairi Lee P/O Steven Mercado Thomas Middleton Police CSR P/O John Binns Police Mgr. Timothy Lilly Lt. James Gallagher CSR John Roberts 10-YEAR AWARDEES CSR Chanyse Robinson Maintenance 20-YEAR AWARDEES Admin Axel Reyes Larry Hames Maintenance Police Garrett Hincken Wade Jackson Melvin Epps P/O Francis Rafferty Robert Nicol Police P/O Renaldo Couce

CSR Dionne Johnson

Admin Mayra Diaz Toni Nazzario Philis Williams

Melvin Epps

CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 5 CENTER CITY DIGEST

More to enjoy at Sister Cities Park

Sister Cities Park is undergoing some exciting options for social and active play while changes that both parents and children will retaining the intimate feel of the park The Center City District enjoy. The redesigned Sister Cities Café has and lawn. undergone a makeover that includes updated Foundation supports The Center City District Foundation is furniture, a new layout and a revamped menu currently seeking donations and support for featuring a great selection of kid-friendly CCD programs and is the Discovery Garden expansion. To contribute, foods. The Boat Pond and Earth Fountain are use the enclosed envelope or make your gift the charity of choice now open for the season, welcoming children online at supportccdf.org/sistercities. from around the city and across the region for those who seek to to play. sustain and enhance And there’s more to come! Due to the growing popularity of Sister Cities Park, Center City downtown Philadelphia’s District is adding even more play opportunities vitality, economy and for children in the Discovery Garden. From a giant climbing net and hiding huts to water attractiveness. pumps and sluice gates, there will be more

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STUDIO|BRYAN HANES Sister Cities Garden Expansion Jan 28, 2019

TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE, VISIT SUPPORTCCDF.ORG/SISTERCITIES OR CONTACT KATIE ANDREWS, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, AT [email protected]

STUDIO|BRYAN HANES Sister Cities Garden Expansion Jan 28, 2019

PULSE IN DILWORTH PARK

Dilworth Park is back in warm-weather mode, and that means Pulse is back in action. This first phase of Janet Echelman’s interactive public artwork became an instant hit with the public when it debuted last fall. Embedded in the park’s fountain, Pulse uses colorful mist to trace the moving SEPTA trains below. For more on Pulse and how you can help us complete the work, visit supportccdf.org/pulse.

Jeff Fusco

CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 7 CENTER CITY DIGEST Green and Clean in Center City

CCD deploys 147 uniformed sidewalk cleaners and supervisors in two overlapping shifts seven days a week, sweeping litter manually and mechanically, no less than three times per day from each sidewalk in the district. The first CCD cleaners appear on the street at 6 a.m., with crews working in prime retail and entertainment areas until 7:30 p.m. in warm weather months and until 5:30 p.m. in winter. Five pressure-washing crews (up from four last year) remove stains and grime from sidewalks in warm weather months, Sunday through Thursday from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Crews also maintain all CCD parks, remove graffiti from the ground-floor façades of buildings in the district and scrape thousands of stickers, posters and tags from light poles, directional signs, and other street furniture including City-owned Big Belly trashcans and Philadelphia Parking Authority fare kiosks. Nearly two-thirds of respondents to CCD’s 2018 Customer Satisfaction Survey rated Center City as “much cleaner” than other James B. Abbott Philadelphia neighborhoods.

In January, the Center City District Foundation (CCDF) announced the launch of Plant Center For more about CCDF’s Plant Center City initiative and how you City, an initiative to add 200 street trees in the central business district over the next two can help us increase Center City’s canopy of healthy street trees, years. And we’re already well on our way to visit supportccdf.org/plantcc that goal.

After an enthusiastic response for street tree requests, the first group of 40 trees are being planted in locations all around the central business district. The tree varieties being planted include hornbeam, willow oak, foster holly and elm.

It costs $2,500 per tree – an average of either excavating a new trench and planting a new tree; or replacing a dead or damaged one; or maintaining CCD’s current inventory of street trees through a schedule of routine pruning, watering, fertilization and pest management. Thanks to a generous challenge grant, donors can “adopt a tree” for only $1,250 for the Marisa Fischetti first 100 trees planted by CCD and have their Center City District also maintains 711 trees, including 165 in CCD’s four parks, and maintains 362 planters on-street contribution matched dollar-for-dollar. and within CCD parks. In 2018 alone, CCD also planted 285 vines, shrubs and perennials and 4,250 bulbs in its parks, and repurposed nearly all of the plants in Dilworth Park’s Wintergarden to enhance the springtime landscaping beds and planters at Cret Park, Collins Park and Sister Cities Park.

8 CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG CENTER CITY DIGEST

Spring & Summer Interested in hosting an event at in CCD Parks one of CCD’s parks? Free fitness classes, free movies, free music, barbeque, crafts, cocktails – Center City District To find out about CCD park rentals, parks have something for everyone this season. Visit ccdparks.org for details and a calendar. call 215.440.5507 or email [email protected]

DILWORTH PARK SISTER CITIES PARK

JUNE 3-AUGUST 27 JUNE 19-JUNE 23 JUNE 3-AUGUST 21 Rothman Orthopaedics presents ALL-AMERICAN COOKOUT PARKWAY PALS CENTER CITY FIT Wednesday-Friday, 5-9 p.m. Mondays – Wednesdays, Mondays & Tuesdays, 6-7 p.m. Peter Tobia Saturday, noon-8 p.m. 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Sunday, noon-6 p.m. JUNE 5-AUGUST 28 JUNE 5-AUGUST 28 EFFEN presents JUNE 22-JUNE 23 SIPS AT SISTER CITIES PARK SIPS AT DILWORTH PARK FINE ART & CRAFT FAIR Wednesdays, 5-7 p.m. Wednesdays, 5-7 p.m. Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday, noon-6 p.m. JUNE 6-AUGUST 29 JUNE 5-JULY 25 LIVE AT SISTER CITIES PARK PNC presents JULY 19-AUGUST 23 Thursdays, 5-8 p.m. LIVE @ LUNCH TD Bank presents (except July 4) Wednesdays & Thursdays, PICTURES IN THE PARK noon-1:30 p.m. Fridays, 8:30-11 p.m. (except July 4) CHECK US OUT AT JUNE 7-JULY 12 CCDPARKS.ORG FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Fridays, 5-8 p.m.

CRET PARK

JUNE 5-AUGUST 28 SIPS AT CRET PARK Wednesdays, 5-7 p.m.

JOHN F. COLLINS PARK Marisa Fischetti

JUNE 6-AUGUST 30 WINE GARDEN Thursdays & Fridays, 4-9 p.m.

Matt Stanley Matt Stanley

CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 9 CENTER CITY DIGEST Homeless Outreach Teams Return to Center City

Melvin Epps

Teams from CCD, Project Home and police Health, the 2018 pilot program ran from The outreach team members will continue have resumed daily homeless outreach April 23 to November 16. During that to meet weekly with the administrators of efforts throughout Center City, urging people time, combined teams of social service the program and service providers to living on the streets to accept services. The outreach workers from Project Home, coordinate follow-up for those who receive outreach teams resumed their work on April CCD’s specially trained Community Service placement to help prevent their return 22, after a weeklong training session, with Representatives (CSRs) and members of to the streets, and to discuss strategies the number of social service workers from the Police Department’s Homeless Service for reaching those on the street who are Project Home doubled and with one police Detail worked together five days a week, resistant to accepting help. officer assigned to each team, as opposed consistently engaging those on the sidewalks to two in 2018. This enables teams to cover of Center City and encouraging 134 people to the entire footprint of the Center City District come off the street and enter social service, with one team covering west of Broad Street mental health and housing programs. and the other covering east of Broad and On average, in 2018 the teams engaged with YOU CAN SUPPORT THE 2019 OUTREACH working simultaneously from 10 a.m. 40 homeless individuals and panhandlers to 6 p.m. EFFORT WITH A TAX DEDUCTIBLE each day. In 2019, the numbers engaged CONTRIBUTION TO THE CENTER CITY Funded and launched by the CCD and daily should double, thus increasing the DISTRICT FOUNDATION. FOR MORE, VISIT implemented in partnership with Project likely success rate for people to come off Home, the Philadelphia Police Department the street. SUPPORTCCDF.ORG and the city’s Department of Behavioral OR CONTACT KATIE ANDREWS AT 215.440.5529

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Now Available: Two more new State of Center City 2019 reports from CCD:

CENTER CITY REPORTS BUILDING OUT FROM THE CORE HOUSING REPORT: 2019

REPORT CONTENTS PAGE 2 Housing production statistics

FEBRUARY 2019 8 Are Supply and Demand in Sync? CENTER CITY DISTRICT Affordability for Middle- and CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION 14 Lower-Income Households FIND MORE REPORTS AT: CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG

PHILLYBYDRONE

In 2018, 2,810 new housing units were completed in Greater stable housing markets without much new, outside investment, Center City – the largest number since the Center City District while other neighborhoods are still experiencing long-term began tracking the market almost 20 years ago. Philadelphia’s disinvestment, deterioration and weakening demand. Compared downtown continues to capitalize upon favorable employment and to many peer cities, prices remain moderate, growth modest and demographic trends that make it the fastest growing residential reinvestment quite limited in its geographic scope. Lower income section of the city. The 71,900 jobs that Philadelphia added since families in Philadelphia face a major affordability challenge that 2010 are highly concentrated in Center City and University City. An is due primarily to low incomes, rather than a reflection of high expanding preference among the nation’s largest age cohorts to rents or sales costs. live and work in thriving, walkable, mixed-use places has enabled Philadelphia to expand from a 3% share of regional housing permits in the 1990s to a 25% share in the last decade, with 81% A RECORD, 2,810 NEW UNITS OF HOUSING WERE of those units built in or adjacent to Greater Center City. The clustering of residential development around the city’s two major COMPLETED IN GREATER CENTER CITY IN 2018, employment nodes is powerfully visualized in Figure 9 (page 7). AS PHILADELPHIA CONTINUES TO CAPITALIZE ON The downtown narrative is a prominent, though far from dominant, ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS THAT part of the total housing story in Philadelphia. It neither should be exaggerated, nor prompt over-reactions through local public FAVOR THRIVING, MIXED-USE PLACES policies that could stifle growth, since it impacts only 17% of the land-area of the city. Many other sections of Philadelphia have

CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 1

Building Out From the Core: Housing Report 2019 explores the current state of residential development in Greater Center City and its adjacent neighborhoods, documents the impact of employment growth and demographic trends on recent development, and looks at affordability State of Center City 2019, a 72-page report The report was distributed to attendees of issues in a comparative context. prepared by the staff of Center City District the April 23 meeting of the CPDC, with a (CCD) and Central Philadelphia Development summary and presentation by CCD President Corporation (CPDC), distills a wealth of Paul R. Levy, and a discussion with SEPTA up-to-the-minute data from city, state and Chairman Pasquale T. (Pat) Deon Sr. and federal agencies; a wide range of local City of Philadelphia First Deputy Commerce

organizations and businesses; and CCD’s Director Sylvie Gallier Howard. CENTER CITY REPORTS own in-depth data analysis. The report KEEP PHILADELPHIA MOVING To read or download State of Center City 2019 examines Greater Center City’s progress in full or by chapter, visit centercityphila.org/socc and strengths, benchmarks our strengths MARCH 2018 CENTER CITY DISTRICT CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION and weaknesses against other cities, FIND MORE REPORTS AT:

CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG PETER TOBIA

candidly highlights our shortcomings, THE PROBLEM OF CONGESTION THE CENTER CITY CONTEXT On weekday afternoons in Center City, Chestnut and Walnut streets All successful cities have congestion at some times and in some and many of the north/south streets in the core are often snarled places. Philadelphia’s challenges are compounded by DNA we with barely moving traffic. Delivery trucks are parked in travel lanes; inherit from ’s 1682 plan: very narrow roadways and makes recommendations to address taxis, ride-sharing vehicles and private cars stop unpredictably compared with most North American cities. At the same time, mid-block; doors open unexpectedly. As signals turn yellow, frus- this pre-auto scale gives Philadelphia’s downtown a significant trated motorists surge into the intersection, blocking cross-traffic competitive edge. It creates the intimate feel and walkability that and crosswalks to guarantee they finally make it through when the encourages tourism, ground-floor retail and cafes in commercial the policy challenges necessary to make signal turns green again. SEPTA buses perform their slow-motion areas and fosters a sense of sociability in residential neighbor- slalom, navigating around illegally parked obstacles. Often immo- hoods. But challenges emerge as typical streets like Arch, Chestnut, bilized, they block two moving lanes. Motorists trying to turn left or Race, Spruce and Walnut and most north/south streets, which are right face a river of moving pedestrians. As they wait for a chance to 60 feet building line to building line, need to accommodate signif- growth more expansive and inclusive for all surge through, they obstruct vehicles behind them seeking to cross icant volumes of buses, trucks and automobiles in a cartway that through the intersection. Absent a dedicated lane, cyclists navigate is 40 to 50 feet in width. Typically these are divided into three lanes, a challenging environment, thread the narrow spaces between with one parking/loading lane and two one-way travel lanes in com- trucks and buses, cutting in front of, or sliding alongside of cars. mercial areas and two parking/loading lanes and a one-way travel Philadelphians. Some pedestrians use the barrier of an illegally parked truck to lane in residential areas. shorten their mid-block crossing and can pop out suddenly in front of a moving bus. In 1776, the developed city extended west from the only to 7th Street. Today, 61% of William Penn’s original street grid, Is this chaotic ballet the result of bad habits of local residents, Vine Street to South Street between the rivers is filled in with buildings; or the fate of all cities that have come back to life? Or, if this is a 8% of land area is devoted to his four planned public squares, plus manageable problem, whose job is it to set things right? And how new parks added in the past two centuries. Sidewalks account for do we do that? This report is an effort to start the conversation about another 192 acres, 14% of land area, allocating 17% or 242 acres for traffic congestion, focusing on why it occurs, how it is currently roadways, the majority of which were originally designed to carry managed (or unmanaged) and what Philadelphia can do differently pedestrians, horses and horse-drawn carriages. to improve conditions that at a minimum are frustrating, sometimes dangerous and an emerging challenge to vitality, attractiveness and The revival in Center City in the last 30 years has contributed to competitiveness of a downtown that generates the lion’s share of the problem, bringing a greater density of development: taller jobs and tax revenues that support services citywide. office towers, more hotels, expanding health care and educational institutions, conversion of parking lots, older industrial and office

CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 1

Keep Philadelphia Moving examines Center City’s growing traffic congestion, focusing on why it occurs, how it is (or isn’t) currently being managed, and what Philadelphia can do differently to improve conditions.

CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 11 SPRING 2019

Center City Digest is a publication Center City District Pre-sorted Standard of the Center City District (CCD), 660 Chestnut Street U.S. Postage a private-sector-sponsored Philadelphia, PA 19106 P A I D municipal authority committed to Philadelphia, PA CenterCityPhila.org providing supplemental services Permit No. 2545 that make Philadelphia’s downtown clean, safe and attractive; and of Central Philadelphia Development Corporation (CPDC), with more than 60 years of private-sector commitment to the revitalization of downtown Philadelphia.

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WEDNESDAYS 5 - 7 PM

JUNE 5 to AUGUST 28

CCDSIPS.COM12  CCDSIPS  #CCDSIPS CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG ALL ATTENDEES MUST BE 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER.