City Partners with Business Leaders on $1.5M Initiative to Revitalize Philadelphia's Economy

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Government & Regulations City partners with business leaders on $1.5M initiative to revitalize Philadelphia's economy

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Left to right: Jerry Sweeney of Brandywine Realty Trust; Susan Jacobson, chair of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia; Angela Val, executive director of Ready Set Philly!; Mayor Jim Kenney; Bill Hankowsky, former CEO of Liberty Property Trust; and Michael Rashid,… more GOVERNMENT & REGULATIONS

LAURA SMYTHE / PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL Philadelphia won't relax Covid-19 capacity restrictions until at least By Laura Smythe – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal April 30 6 minutes ago

TRANSPORTATION IN THIS ARTICLE Philadelphia ofcials and major players in the region’s CVG gets new nonstop destination Angela Val business community have teamed up to launch a yearlong Person initiative aimed at helping the local economy bounce back

Bill Hankowsky from Covid-19. COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Person Photos: Look inside Chris Franklin “Ready. Set. Philly!” is a collaboration between the city, Hines' 47-story Texas Person Tower in downtown Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and Houston Coronavirus Topic businesses and organizations throughout the area that looks to SPONSORED CONTENT Government & encourage employers, workers and visitors alike to return to by Pennsylvania Depart of Labor & Industry Regulations Philly in a safe way. The initiative encompasses a marketing Pennsylvania’s rapid Industry response services can Michael Rashid campaign and the formulation of a centralized resource hub to connect your business Person streamline distribution of pandemic-related information and with the highly skilled workers you need Michelle Histand guidelines. Person

Susan Jacobson Emphasis is being placed on devising a “unifed strategy” to Person aid established businesses in reopening while also attracting new businesses to the city.

Angela Val, chief administrative ofcer at Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, is serving as the initiative’s executive director, while Michelle Histand, director of innovation at Independence Blue Cross, is deputy executive director. The leadership team will split their time between the new roles and their existing positions.

Angela Val, chief administrative officer at Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, is serving as executive director of the "Ready. Set. Philly!" initiative. LAURA SMYTHE / PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL

Philadelphia Commerce Director Michael Rashid; Susan Jacobson, chair of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia; and Bill Hankowsky, the former president and CEO of Liberty Property Trust, will serve as co-chairs. The collaboration has a 17-person executive steering committee and 25-person task force composed of regional business leaders participating in the initiative. Players include Visit Philadelphia, Center City District, Comcast, FS Investments, Skai Blue Media and Brandywine Realty Trust.

The initiative is funded by corporate donations managed by the Philadelphia Foundation. Ready. Set. Philly! is initially focusing on accumulating resources from in-kind contributions, Val told the Business Journal, before moving to fll holes in its budget. Ultimately, she estimates the endeavor could have an operating budget of roughly $1.5 million.

Support has so far come from companies including the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Independence Blue Cross, SEPTA and The Leader’s Edge. The initiative’s inaugural contribution stemmed from Chris Franklin, CEO of Bryn Mawr-based Essential Utilities Inc, Val said, noting this illustrates how the regional business community is viewing Ready. Set. Philly! as a united “civic efort.”

“They understand the relationship of Philadelphia to the surrounding counties and that they have a lot of people who live in those communities that work downtown and they spend that money they make downtown back in those communities,” Val said. “So it is all connected.”

Ready. Set. Philly! aims to provide a “blueprint” to businesses of various sizes and industries on how to relaunch at this point in the pandemic, Val said. It doesn’t look to “demand how or when” businesses should reopen, but rather provide necessary information for businesses to establish their own timelines for reopening and rehiring workers.

Philadelphia restaurateur Ellen Yin spoke in support of "Ready. Set. Philly!" via a video message during a press conference Wednesday.

LAURA SMYTHE / PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL

Centralizing information on evolving Covid-19 restrictions can provide more lead time for business owners to kick operations back into gear, Val noted. This could be helpful for bars, restaurants, retail shops and other businesses that throughout the pandemic have vocalized the difculty and hefty costs associated with scaling up operations on short notice when ofcials announce unforeseen loosened guidelines.

In that way, Ready. Set. Philly! looks to help employers feel more confdent in when they bring employees back to work, ultimately reviving thousands of jobs and stimulating the local economy. About 155,000 Philadelphians work in Center City alone, which generates nearly $10 billion in annual earnings, according to Econsult Solutions Inc. Much of that income cycles back through Philadelphia neighborhoods and fuels spending in commercial corridors.

Laura Smythe @lcs_smythe

Iʼm here in Center City where Mayor Jim Kenney + the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia are about to debut a new initiative aimed at revitalizing local business, arts & culture in a COVID world

1003 AM · Mar 24, 2021

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Ready. Set. Philly! resources similarly target helping employees feel comfortable returning to work. Two virtual employee- centric focus groups are in the works to assess public sentiment toward returning to work. From there, a frm timeline of the initiative's yearlong action plan will be devised. Val anticipates large-scale marketing through vehicles such as billboards will launch around the start of summer.

The initiative comes at a time when Philadelphia is looking to fll massive holes in its budget caused by Covid-19. The pandemic prompted a $750 million budget gap for the city in fscal year 2021, and there is an anticipated shortfall of another $450 million for fscal year 2022. The defcits disproportionately impacted Black- and brown-owned businesses and workers, according to the Chamber.

“We are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and we need to be ready for it when it happens,” Rashid, the city's commerce director, said. “... We must now start working to inspire confdence in the safety and security of returning to work in Philadelphia so that we can revive our economy and restore Philadelphia's vibrancy.”

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