North Philadelphia : Development News

As one of 79 regional chapters under the umbrella of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC) certainly doesn't mince words when it comes to its mission -- there it is, in 16-point type atop the "Strategic Plan" page of its website: "Green Buildings for All."
 
Here in the Delaware Valley, the execution of that vision translates to outreach and public policy work intended to transform the community through environmentally responsible building.

DVGBC also hosts an annual awards ceremony designed to recognize green development projects "that are really cutting-edge and transformational," says Janet Milkman, the Council's executive director. "We've always tried to celebrate the thrust in green building practice in our region," she adds, explaining why this year's ceremony is being referred to as the Groundbreaker Awards.
 
Six finalists have been chosen out of 20 total nominations. The three winners will be announced during a September 18 awards ceremony at Center City's Suzanne Roberts Theater modeled after the Oscars; attendees will enter on a green carpet.
 
"Honestly, we had 20 wonderful submissions," says Milkman. "They were all terrific, so the jury had a hard time."

Ultimately, the six finalists were chosen because of their uniqueness in the region, and because of their potential to be modeled by future developement projects.  
 
UPenn's Shoemaker Green, which is managing stormwater with vegetative infrastructure approaches, is one such project. So is North Philadelphia's residential Paseo Verde, a mixed-income transportation-oriented development (TOD) project, and the first in the country to achieve Platinum status under the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) designation.
 
Other finalists included KidZooU at the Philadelphia Zoo and the Camden Friends Meeting House and Social Hall in Delaware.

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Janet Milkman, DVGBC
 

For the third time in five years, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) has been awarded a multimillion-dollar allocation in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) from the U.S Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.

PIDC received a total of $110 million in NMTC allocations in 2009 and 2012; the latest award will add an extra $38 million to the organization’s coffers.
 
Created by Congress in late 2000, the goal of the NMTC program is to bring private investment dollars to low-income and distressed neighborhoods by providing developers with federal tax credits. The application process is competitive -- only 87 organizations received allocations from the most recent round, which totaled $3.5 billion in NMTC awards.  
 
Ultimately, the hope is that the allocations will stimulate a level of private investment even greater than the initial credit. Here in Philadelphia, that goal is being met. A total of $239 million in private sector investment resulted from the $110 million previously allocated via PIDC. And that’s to say nothing of the 950 jobs created thanks to those projects.
 
The mixed-use Oxford Mills apartment-and-office facility in Fishtown, for instance -- which was the subject of a 2013 New York Times feature -- was a recipient of PIDC’s previous allocations. So too was the NewCourtland LIFE Center, a senior health and wellness center that sits on a long-vacant former brownfield site.
 
As for what will come of PIDC’s 2013 award, Marketing and Communications Director Jessica Calter says it’s a bit too early to tell.

"We do have a pipeline of projects to utilize our $38 million allocation," she says. "But at this point I can’t talk about any specifics."

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Jessica Calter, PIDC

It would be exciting enough to learn that the Eraserhood (a.k.a. Callowhill) finally has more than one independent coffee shop. But at the new Vice Coffee, Tattoos & Books, which quietly opened its doors at 1031 Spring Garden Street on February 7, customers can order up a permanent piece of body art with their half-caff quad-shot soy latte.
 
According to Vice co-owner Charlie Collazo, who also operates a nearby craft-beer pub called The Institute Bar, it was the decade he spent as a Home Depot manager that inspired the shop.

"Big-box retail is all about selection and variety," he explains. "There's a diversity of things you're able to offer the customer, so you're not relying on one source of income."
 
The neighborhood's slow-but-steady gentrification was also a motivating factor -- along with the fact that the area is low on boutique coffee. Vice is grinding beans from One Village Coffee and offering pastries from LeBus Bakery, along with a light menu of soups and sandwiches.  
 
And as for the tattoos?

"It's just an idea I had that I thought would be really cool," says Collazo. "To do a really nice, specialty tattoo studio...in a welcoming environment where you come in and you feel comfortable."  
 
It took Collazo three months to receive the approvals necessary to offer tattoos. But, because the shop offers a higher-than-average wage split to its artists, Vice is already staffed with tattooists adept at everything from portraiture and fine-line styles to old-school flash pieces.  
 
To further diversify, the shop also offers a book lending library featuring over 1,000 titles, heavy in sci-fi paperbacks and (of course) pictoral tattoo tomes. Customers can borrow books for up to three weeks at a time.

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Charlie Collazo, Vice Coffee, Tattoos & Books
 

Philadelphia's extraordinary Mural Arts Program, currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, is known citywide for its colorful work. More than 3,600 murals have been produced since Mayor Wilson Goode hired artist Jane Golden to head the program in 1984.  
 
According to Golden, over the past five years the organization has become especially interested in "gateway projects" -- artworks situated at exit and entrance destinations, such as airports, interstates or major intersections.

"I just think it's so important that we think about what people see when they're leaving and entering Philadelphia," she explains.
 
It was that idea that led Golden and her staff to begin a three-year courtship with Katharina Grosse, the celebrated Berlin-based contemporary painter responsible for Mural Arts' latest large-scale gateway project, psychylustro, which was recently constructed along a stretch of Amtrak's Northeast Rail Corridor between 30th Street Station and North Philadelphia Station.     
 
Reminiscent of the grand outdoor projects that have turned artists like Christo and Jeanne-Claude into household names, psychylustro (pronounced psyche-LUSTRO) consists of a three-mile series of seven different color-drenched installations. There are warehouse walls, building façades and random stretches of green space, all meant to be viewed from the window of a moving train.
 
"We really want people to see what we see," says Golden, referring to the industrial, ruined, stunning sites that have been transformed by pops of Grosse's color. "We see the deterioration but we also see the beauty; we see the history; we see Philadelphia’s past."
 
Visit the Mural Arts website for a project map, details about viewing the works from various city bridges, and information about the mobile audio component that accompanies psychylustro.
 
Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Jane Golden, Mural Arts Project
 

From its perch on the corner of Broad Street and Fairmount Avenue in North Philly, the ten-story Divine Lorraine -- currently crumbling, nearly in ruins -- has been watching over Philadelphia for 120 years.
 
Recently, the latest chapter in the life of this gorgeous relic was made public: A New Jersey-based real estate mogul with an impressive record of rescuing stalled development projects has agreed to lend just over $31 million to the building's current owner, Eric Blumenfeld, who purchased the building in late 2012 but underestimated renovation costs. So, after sitting empty for the past 15 years, a bit of optimism is in the air.    
 
"It seems my entire career, I came in to finish things other people couldn't get done," says Billy Procida, the lender who's now working with Blumenfeld on the building's renovation. The Lorraine may become a high-end apartment building, Procida says, or perhaps a hotel.
 
Either option will include 21,000 square feet of commercial space -- likely a mix of restaurants, lounges and retail, according to Procida, who feels that a highly visible boutique hotel could turn the neighborhood's fortunes around almost immediately. "I've just got to see if we can find an operator who can move fast enough," he adds.  
 
Procida and Blumenfeld are also exploring a 50-50 option for the building -- turning half of it into apartments and the other half into a hotel. But when it comes to the Lorraine's crucial status in North Philly, Procida has few doubts.

"If this building was finished, that neighborhood would be on fire right now," he says. "The one thing holding that neighborhood back is that building. It's that simple."

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Billy Procida, Procida Funding & Advisors
 

For just over a decade now, Sarah McEneaney and John Struble, an artist and furniture-maker respectively, have been campaigning to transform North Philly's old Reading Viaduct into a stunning elevated park.

Their inspiration -- like that of so many other urban rail-to-park projects that have popped up across the country -- was the celebrated rehabilition of the High Line in Manhattan.
 
And while McEneaney and Struble had been specifically focused on developing the quarter-mile section of rail that curves through the Loft District east of Broad, they've since teamed up with another pro-rail park group -- originally known as Viaduct Green, and now referred to as Friends of the Rail Park -- who've had their eyes on the railroad's entire three-mile stretch since 2010.
 
According to McEneaney, the two organizations are now collectively known as Friends of the Rail Park. And thanks to their years-long fundraising and grassroots letter-writing efforts -- along with donations from the William Penn Foundation and Poor Richard's Charitable Trust -- the first phase of the railway's development (the aforementioned quarter-mile spur east of Broad) is inching closer to groundbreaking. McEneaney expects the shovels to hit dirt in 2015.

Following phase one's completion, the group plans to shift its focus to the railway's west-of-Broad section.

In the meantime, Friends of the Rail Park are still actively raising funds for the project's capital costs and maintenance. After the spur's completion, the organization will transpose into a voluntary friends group responsible for the park's upkeep. Center City District will be managing the construction of the elevated Rail Park, which will then fall under the purview of the Fairmount Park Commission.
 
To donate to the cause or view a mini-documentary on the Rail Park produced by Good Motion Project, visit therailpark.org.

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Sarah McEneaney, Friends of the Rail Park
 

In a classic case of necessity as mother of invention, Temple Fox School of Business student Ofo Ezeugwu has developed a website for renters to rate landlords. He observed that students living in Philadelphia were often vulnerable in the rental process. 

"I hatched the idea in February 2012 when I was running for Temple's VP of External Affairs," says Ezeugwu. "Many of my dealings had to do with students' relations with off-campus entities and opportunities. I thought it would be great if students could rate their landlords the same way they rate their professors on RateMyProfessor.com."

WhoseYourLandlord.com launched in October 2012 with fellow Temple student Nik Korablin as web developer. The startup's unusually spelled name regularly raises questions, but Ezeugwu explains that the choice of homonym is intentional — the possessive form of the word 'who' signifies a return of ownership to tenants.

Since its launch, the website has grown to include users in multiple schools across different states. A "fall tour" of East Coast colleges promoted the site and encouraged users to rate landlords in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., North Virginia and New York. Students can also rate on-campus housing such as dorms and residential halls.

Next steps include launching a mobile app in early 2014, and incorporating a way for landlords to respond to comments users leave on their profiles. The growing company also plans to hire in the new year.

Writer: Nicole Woods
Ofo Ezeugwu, Whose Your Landlord

Philadelphia's vacant land has been one of the most debated public policy issues of recent years. And for good reason -- the city is losing millions every year in maintenance costs, delinquint taxes and decreased adjacent property values. The problem is so big that the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference is in town through September 11, shedding some light on the conundrum and examining innovative solutions.  
 
Put together by the Center for Community Progress, the conference is drawing upwards of 800 public and private sector experts in land banking, tax foreclosure, code enforcement and urban planning from around the country.
 
"Over the past two years, Philadelphia has taken several strategic and significant steps toward addressing its long-standing vacant property issues," explained John Carpenter, Deputy Executive Director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and co-chair of the conference local planning committee in a press release. "The Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference is our opportunity to share our successes with other cities while also learning from their achievements."
 
One of the most important steps for Philadelphia is creating a city-wide land bank. It will allow the city to clear liens and other claims, and acquire group parcels in a strategic manner in an effort to facilitate development opportunities.

"Mayor Nutter and Council are committed to adding a land bank to the tools for addressing our vacant property system," said Rick Sauer, executive director of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, in a press release. "The many Philadelphia advocates who support a land bank are excited to exchange ideas and strategies with their colleagues from across the country to make that goal a reality."
 
The conference will feature 50 sessions on topics such as land banking, tax foreclosure, brownfields, code enforcement, market-smart revitalization, data and technology innovations, green infrastructure and green reuse strategies.
 
Source:  John Carpenter, Deputy Executive Director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority; Rick Sauer, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

It was barely four months ago that Flying Kite spoke with the folks at the Asian Arts Initiative (AAI) about their plans to revitalize four blocks of Pearl Street, an alleyway that runs from Broad to 10th Street, just north of Vine. At the time few details were finalized, but come September 28, AAI is throwing the first ever Pearl Street Block Party, taking the first steps towards making their vision a reality.

Over the coming years, AAI hopes to transform the forgotten alley into a dynamic public space featuring public art, lighting improvements and multi-sensory programmed activities. Green features will also be included, with the hope of eventually connecting Pearl Street to the long-envisioned Reading Viaduct project.

Billed as a free all-day neighborhood arts festival, the party will center around two main events. First, Oakland-based landscape architect and artist Walter Hood will lead attendees in a community furniture build (2 - 5 p.m.). The resulting tables and chairs will then serve as furniture for a community feast (5 p.m.). (Advance registration is required for the community feast; email [email protected] to register). 

The day will also feature live music, performances, food and a huge array of art vendors; many of the participating artists work through the AAI's artists-in-residence program.

"The Pearl Street Block Party is not only a celebration of the diversity and richness of creative activity that is constantly happening in our neighborhood, but also an opportunity for Philadelphians to participate in all kinds of interactive art-making," explains AAI Executive Director Gayle Isa in a press release. "We come to work every day knowing that we're part of one of the most dynamic neighborhoods in Philadelphia, and we're excited to show off why on September 28."

 
Source:  Gayle Isa, Executive Director, Asian Arts Initiative
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

It was 2008 the last time The Merchants Fund partnered with the Department of Commerce to offer ReStore Retail Incentive Grants for upgrading or establishing retail along neighborhood commercial corridors. West Philly's Mariposa Food Co-Op was one of the lucky recipients, successfully utilizing the funds to fill financial gaps and make the project a reality. Since opening, the Baltimore Avenue grocery has quintupled in size, created 30 jobs, remediated a food desert and helped stabilize a commercial corridor. That same level of success is what The Merchants Fund is after with their next round of grants; a Request for Proposals opens August 14.

According to Patricia Blakeley with The Merchants Fund, this year's round of grants is "more of the same" -- applicants must have at least two primary partners: a community non-profit and a future or current retail business owner or arts organization (for-profit or non-profit). Grants of up to $50,000 are available.

"We're looking for shovel-ready projects," explains Blakeley. "We want to sweeten the pot so projects can be completed by summer 2014."

To accomplish that, the ReStore Grants are being offered in tandem with a new program called InStore, a Department of Commerce and Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy forgivable loan program designed to help businesses with interior improvements. The retail locations must serve a low-to-moderate income population to qualify for the $15,000 to $50,000 grants.

In total, the two programs are offering $800,000 to help establish high-quality retail, encourage business attraction and aid commercial expansion in Philly neighborhoods. While some recipients could potentially benefit from more than one grant, Blakeley says the money will be divided up in a fair and strategic way.

"We haven't figured out the details of who will fund what, but we want to reach all corners of the city," she explains.

A briefing about the two programs will be held on at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, August 14 at 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor, City Planning Room (18-029). 

Source:  Patricia Blakeley, The Merchants Fund
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Representatives from five Delaware Valley schools were in Washington, D.C. earlier this month to receive a 2013 Green Ribbon Schools award; one school district also received a District Sustainability Award.
 
Similar to the Blue Ribbon Awards for educational excellence, the U.S. Department of Education grants the Green Ribbon Awards to schools that work to reduce their environmental footprint; improve the health and wellness of students and faculty; and integrate sustainability education into the curriculum. The region's winners were among 78 schools and districts chosen nationwide.
 
Notably, all Delaware and Pennsylvania statewide nominees this year were from the Philadelphia region.

"It's clear that there is a lot of local energy and interest for promoting sustainability in our schools," says Lori Braunstein with the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, who helped administer the school's applications.

Each honoree was recognized for different reasons. From newer suburban schools with solar arrays to older city schools boasting unique partnerships with the City of Philadelphia, each worked hard to prove its worth as a leader on sustainablity initiatives. 
 
The winning local schools are Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School (Philadelphia School District); Broughal Middle School (Bethlehem Area School District, Northampton County); Nazareth Area Middle School (Nazareth Area School District, Northampton County); and Westtown School (Chester County).
 
Lower Merion School District (Montgomery County) was awarded the first-ever District Sustainability Award.
 
"It's possible the schools can leverage the award to get additional funding or get to the front of the line for other sustainability initiatives," says Braunstein. "This can just be the beginning."

Source:  Lori Braunstein, Delaware Valley Green Building Council
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Architects, designers, community leaders and affordable housing advocates take note: On Tuesday, June 18 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Center for Architecture, the Community Design Collaborative (CDC) and Habitat for Humanity are holding a local launch for the acclaimed book Designed for Habitat.
 
The book profiles 13 smartly designed Habitat housing projects.

"Taken together, the projects illustrate that high quality designs are possible with Habitat Homes," says David Hinson, author and current head of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at Auburn University. "Current conventional thinking in the design industry often assumes otherwise."
 
The 13 projects were chosen not just because they feature innovative design choices, but because of their collaborative nature. "Affordable housing in this country can always be improved upon and good design alone isn’t enough," adds Hinson. "Smart collaboration is key."
 
Located across the country, the homes represent a wide range of Habitat projects, from large and urban to small and rural. Two of them are local -- one in North Philadelphia, the other in West Philly. Hinson, a former Philadelphian himself, is quite familiar with both buildings.
 
The first, Project 1800, delivered a new dwelling and site design prototype for a post-industrial neighborhood in North Philly. The project's 15 new homes and five rehabilitated row homes provide an effective solution in a blight-ridden urban district.

The other project, the Stiles Street Homes, brought nine new-construction Habitat units to Parkside in West Philly. According to Hinson, this project shows how advocates can navigate the waters of community resistance and NIMBY-ism. Through a collaborative process and community outreach, they managed to deliver a context-sensitive solution.

At the event, Hinson will talk about these two projects in detail, as well as the 11 others outlined in Designed for Habitat. CDC board member Daryn Edwards will then moderate a panel featuring Hinson, Jon Mussleman, Maarten Pesch, Megan McGinley and Sally Harrison.

Source: David Hinson, author & head of the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture at Auburn University
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Over the next ten months, approximately 120 Youthbuild Philadelphia students will transform two vacant homes in Nicetown into models of sustainable living. The homes, located at 2006 and 2008 West Wingohocking Street, are the latest projects in a neighborhood experiencing a swell of investment.
 
The homes sit directly across the street from Wayne Junction Station, where SEPTA is investing $18 million in intermodal improvements. Down the street is Nicetown Court I, a mixed-use mixed-income project completed in 2011; Nicetown Court II, a 50-unit mixed-use development, is currently under construction.

Youthbuild Philadelphia, an offshoot of YouthBuild USA, is a charter school that gives students the opportunity to earn high school diplomas or GEDs while exposing them to real world trades such as construction.
 
For these homes, Youthbuild has partnered with the Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation, an arm of the world’s largest building materials company (their North American operations are based in Valley Forge), to ensure the structures are built with a sustainable, energy-efficient ethos.
 
"This project gives us the chance to pair young adults side-by-side with top-notch building scientists and experts," says Carmen Ferrigno, Saint-Gobain's vice president of communications. "It is a great opportunity for the kids to see people with careers in this field and see what it is like to have this type of job."
 
The Nicetown project will be the second completed by YouthBuild and Saint-Gobain as part of a three-year partnership. Accoding to Ferrigno, the first project -- located on Greene Street in Germantown -- "really surprised" his company with the impact it had on the young adults.
 
"We saw it was a very important experience for them to learn a new trade," says Ferrigno. "One student latched on to welding and has now earned an apprenticeship with a local union."
 
And ultimately, those stories are what the partnership is all about.

"These students go through a transformation," adds Ferrigno. "Using top-of-the-line building materials, we're pairing kids with experts to learn not just a new trade but the latest innovations in our industry."

Source:  Carmen Ferrigno, VP of communications, Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

The stretch of North 5th Street that runs through Olney is brimming with over 200 businesses and situated in the heart of one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods. For business owners there, it's imperative to stand out in the crowd. Now, help is on the way -- during the month of May, the North Fifth Street Revitalization Project (N5SRP) is partnering with Drexel's Design and Merchandising Program to completely revamp storefront windows.
 
Since its inception in 2005, N5SRP has been dedicated to improving the physical environment and increasing economic activity along North 5th Street. The Drexel partnership -- now in its second iteration -- is an exciting tool, offering fresh ideas to help beautify the corridor and directly assist merchants in the process.
 
One of the college’s longest-running community engagement programs, the visual merchandising studio has provided students the opportunity to design window displays for more than a decade.

"In the recent past, similar projects took place in Old City and Northern Liberties," explains Philip Green, interim director of N5SRP. "It's exciting to once again bring the project up north."   

Olney's initiative will officially kick-off on May 14 with a background presentation to the participating Drexel students on the corridor and businesses. "From there, student groups are responsible for contacting their assigned businesses and setting up a meeting to discuss the window concepts," explains Green.
 
The four participating businesses -- T-House (a t-shirt shop), 5th Street Furniture Outlet, Advanced Family Dentistry and Gibson School of Music and Arts -- are a varied bunch. "We're very excited to see what the students come up with," says Green. "We're hopeful the ideas are as diverse as the businesses participating."

After the students have developed sketches and identified the materials necessary to make their designs a reality, installation will begin on May 28. Students, businesses owners, N5SRP staff and community members will then meet on-site to give a final critique.

Source:  Philip Green, Interim Director, North Fifth Street Revitalization Project
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

This spring, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is bringing together prominent landscape architects and civic horticulture enthusiasts for a three-day conference showcasing Philly landscapes. The event will launch Friday, May 17 in Center City.  
 
The conference, Civic Horticulture -- which is being held in conjunction with the Cultural Landscape Foundation -- will feature nationally recognized speakers discussing how Philadelphia has used civic horticulture (a discipline that bridges aesthetics, economics and ecological systems) to successfully shape the city's urban resurgence.
 
"The conference builds off what we've done to transform the city's public spaces," says Drew Becher, president of PHS. "A lot of the speakers have never been to Philly, so this gives us an opportunity to show how other places can learn from our example."
 
Free expert-led tours will follow the conference. Dubbed What’s Out There Weekend, this series of tours will showcase more than two dozen significant examples of Philadelphia's standout landscape architecture, including hidden gems in Fairmount Park, on the grounds of the Rodin Museum and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  
 
The conference will take place in tandem with the unofficial unveiling of a draft form of PHS’s new civic landscapes plan for Philadelphia, developed with PennPraxis. The plan is the first of its kind in over 20 years.
 
"In the late '80s or early '90s, a plan was completed that laid out landscape projects in and around Center City," explains Becher. "More recently, we looked at the plan and said, 'Wow, we completed a lot of the projects.' We decided a new plan was needed."
 
The new plan, which is still months away from being completed, includes proposals that are divided into three categories: image makers, place makers and partner makers.

With place and partner makers, improvements will be made to specific neighborhoods or significant plazas -- this is where small moves and neighborhood partnerships can make a big difference. Implementing a pocket park or a streetscape improvement program are examples of work in this category.
 
Image maker improvements, meanwhile, aim to improve the look and feel of major transportation areas and corridors in the city. Areas of interest include Philadelphia International Airport, Amtrak’s northeast corridor rail line in North Philadelphia, Girard Avenue over the Schuylkill River, Vine Street in Center City and Broad Street from Passyunk Avenue up to Temple University.
 
For these corridors, improvements could include illumination enhancements, gateway and signage improvements, art and object installations, planting and surfacing improvements, or landform creations and creative screening.
 
"[At the conference in May], we will introduce the many ideas in the plan and begin to reach out to the public for feedback," adds Becher. "From there, we’ll put together a cohesive plan and begin its implementation." Extensive public outreach is expected to begin in earnest in September.

Source: Drew Becher, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Writer: Greg Meckstroth