diversity : Development News

When Sara Hirschler was driving around Spring Garden a few years back on a house-hunting mission, it was her real estate agent who pointed out the embarrassing eyesore that was Roberto Clemente Park, at 19th and Wallace streets. "He was like, 'Don't look at this park--it's not a good place!'" Hirschler recalls. And at the time, that was certainly an accurate assessment. Roberto Clemente Park has long been seen as a hotbed of illicit drug and gang activity, regardless of the fact that much of the surrounding community is relatively upscale.

Hirschler nevertheless ended up purchasing a condo around the corner from the park, and she soon came to know Roberto Clemente as "this really amazing, central spot in the neighborhood," she says. "I definitely saw it as an opportunity, where I could have a place to get to know my neighbors."

At first, Hirschler organized a series of kickball games in the park, but they soon evolved into something bigger and better. "I went through the park," she says, "and created an action plan of all the needs the park had--basic things, like painting the playground equipment, and the field needing some grass."

Along with Justino Navarro, a Spring Garden CDC board member, Hirschler also launched Friends of Clemente, which has been working to revitalize the park since 2008. (The group is largely funded by donations.) The organization's latest initiative involves a complete overhaul of the park, which should be finished by the end of May. A fence that wraps around the park's field is also being painted, and on May 14 the group will be hosting the second installment of Clemente Fest, a sort of neighborhood get-together featuring food, music, and a handball tournament.

"It's such a beautiful neighborhood," Hirschler adds. "And (Clemente Fest) is a great opportunity to start to get to know everybody, and to really feel like a community."

Source: Sara Hirschler, Friends of Clemente
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Here's a little-known Philadelphia factoid: According to Sukiya Living, a bi-monthly journal of Japanese gardening, the Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park is the third-ranked Japanese garden in all of North America. And yet according to Shofuso's Executive Director, Kim Andrews, the historic site is so underfunded that it doesn't even have its own on-site storage or office space. But thanks to Andrews, that's all about to change.

After recently penning a 10,000-word grant proposal for the Pew Center's Heritage Philadelphia Program, Shofuso was awarded $184,300 to historically restore two run-down "comfort stations" that were built as restrooms for the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Andrews' "most brilliant move ever," as she refers to it, involved combining the Pew Center's grant with an even larger funding source from Fairmount Park's Preservation and Development arm.

In total, Shofuso received well over $500,000. Beginning this May, that money will be used to restore both of the former comfort stations back to their 1876 glory; the historic architectural preservation team from John Milnar and Associates will be in charge of the design.

"This is just transformational for a small organization like us," says Andrews. "It makes it so that we can fulfill our mission in a way that we've never really been able to do, ever, in the history of our organization."

And while one of the restored buildings will be used primarily as office and storage space, Andrews explains that the other will be a multipurpose classroom, where photography classes, bonsai workshops, and origami and Japanese flower arranging classes will take place. It will also be used as a staging area for weddings. "This multiplies our story exponentially," says Andrews. "Now we're literally anchored in history."

Shofuso expects to hold its grand opening for the buildings during the 2012 Cherry Blossom Festival, in April.

Source: Kim Andews, Shofuso
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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In October 2007, 2 year-old Jacob Myles Nasto, who was born with a rare heart defect, passed away from complications following his fourth open-heart surgery. Jacob's mother "was so stricken with grief that she was walking in a fog," says Lynn Cummings, who is Jacob's grandmother.

Lynn Cummings is also one of the founders of a Camden County nonprofit, Build Jake's Place, which was created as a memorial to Jacob's life after a family friend made a financial donation in the child's name. Currently, the nonprofit is busy raising funds to develop Camden County's first-ever Boundless Playground, a fully-accessible and integrated play area where children and adults of any physical ability - disabled or abled - can play and learn together. "My daughter, that moment, woke up," says Cummings, referring to the decision to build the memorial playground.

Jake's Place, as the playground will be known, is being constructed at Challenge Grove Park in Cherry Hill, N.J. And because there are only about 130 Boundless Playgrounds in the entire nation, it's being expressly designed as a major destination park, with 100 on-site parking spaces. Naturally, the park will also be rich in special amenities; Jake's Place will include a wheelchair-accessible glider, specially-secured swings, and double-wide sliding boards. "This is a playground for everybody," says Cummings, "whether your body is in a wheelchair, or on crutches, or you're disabled and you want to follow your child around on the playground."

Boundless Playgrounds, of course, don't come cheap. According to Cummings, construction and equipment costs can run as high as $500,000, and Build Jake's Place still needs to raise another $100,000 before breaking ground this July, and then opening in October. The nonprofit has a number of upcoming fundraising efforts planned; click here to learn more.

Source: Lynn Cummings, Build Jake's Place
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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A coffee shop isn't widely used as a tactic in the battle against poverty.  The nonprofit People for People, an organization whose mission is "to break the generational cycle of poverty in the lives of (North Central Philadelphia) residents" is poised to do just that. The organization's project, a coffee shop known as PFP Cafe, is scheduled to open this September near the intersection of North Broad Street and Fairmount Avenue.

Frank Robinson, PFP's Director of Development, says: "We wanted to do something that would continue to promote economic development for our area. And we wanted something we could use to train people in our jobs programs. (The PFP Cafe) will be like a live training ground."

People for People was designated in 2006 as an EARN Center by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare; one of its major goals involves helping the unemployed and underemployed with hands-on job readiness training. The cafe, which will serve coffee and bakery items, will give PFP's welfare-to-work clients a chance to practice their work skills in a real-life environment. What's more, the cafe will provide two or three full-time jobs, as well as dozens of rotating part-time positions. The ultimate goal, says Robinson, is for those workers to eventually transition into full-time positions in the service, retail or hospitality industries.

"We're changing lives," Robinson adds. "(PFP Cafe) is just another way to make sure people get the training they need to get jobs, and to help the economy. That's what we're doing."

Source: Frank Robinson, People for People
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Located just east of Philadelphia's upscale Fairmount neighborhood, and just north of Spring Garden, the small North Philly district of Francisville is probably best known locally for its extreme economic diversity. And now, two of the organizations that have been most active in changing and improving the face of the neighborhood--a nonprofit developer known as Community Ventures, and the Francisville Neighborhood Development Corporation--have teamed up to create the 44-unit Francisville East, an affordable housing development with a stunning aesthetic sensibility that belies its status as a low-income development.

Outsiders who visit the neighborhood, in fact, often mistakenly assume that Francisville East is an example of the gentrification taking place there. "It's kind of interesting," says Community Venture's David LaFontaine, with a chuckle. "(One of the TV networks) did a news report on Francisville, and they kept taping our building. But they were referring to all the economic changes and the gentrification. It is a really nice building," he adds. "It's the most attractive thing being built. But it's not actually gentrification."

Not even close. Residents of Francisville East, in fact, earn somewhere between 20 and 60 percent of the area's median income. And the project's apartment building, which is home to 27 one-bedroom units, was built specifically with senior citizens and the handicapped in mind. Still, the decidedly modern development, which sits on the 1500 block of Poplar Street, and on a lot that was previously trash-strewn and filled the detritus of construction equipment, also features a small garden, permeable sidewalks, solar panels, and off-street parking.

"The neat part," LaFontaine adds, "is that we sort of tackled the worst block in the neighborhood. It was sort of the epicenter of blight in Francisville. And we got rid of it."

Source: David LaFontaine, Community Ventures
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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On Valentine's Day last week, Mayor Michael Nutter appeared at Esperanza College in North Philadelphia to introduce the recipients of the 2011 Neighborhood Economic Development grants. The purpose of the long-running and hugely popular program, which receives $1 million in funding from the federal Community Development Block Grant program, is to "support the completion of neighborhood economic predevelopment, planning, and development projects," according to a Philadelphia Department of Commerce press release distributed at Esperanza.

Mayor Nutter, however, described the program in significantly more passionate and straightforward terms: "When we talk about this program, it's not just about affordable housing," he offered. "It's not just about shelter for the homeless. It's not just about investing. It's also about jobs, which is all we really want to talk about. You ask me what time it is?" he continued. "It's time to help people get a job. You ask me what the weather's like? It's nice enough to go out and look for a job. Anything you ask me, we're going to talk about jobs."

And although some might argue that the Neighborhood Economic Development grants are about much more than simple job creation--at their core, they're about helping community groups foster serious economic growth--the reality is that a total of 368 permanent jobs will eventually be created as a result of the grant monies being awarded to this year's recipients.

Esperanza, in fact, was one of this year's nine grant recipients, as was the Center for Culinary Enterprises, a food business incubator which plans to break ground on March 23. Other recipients include Community Legal Services, which is constructing a four-story building; Mt. Airy USA, which is building the Mt. Airy Transit Village; and People for People (PFP), which will offer job training in a soon-to-be-renovated two-story building. Click here to read about the remaining grant recipients and their plans for future development.

Source: Esperanza College
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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The crime-ridden and poverty-stricken South Philadelphia neighborhood of Grays Ferry is one that doesn't often find itself mentioned in the local news media--unless that news is decidedly negative. But recently, the residents of both Grays Ferry and its next-door South Philly neighborhood, Point Breeze, found themselves the recipients of $1 million in community revitalization funds that will be distributed by Universal Companies, the nonprofit CDC founded by the legendary music producer Kenny Gamble.

Half of that money came from the U.S. Department of Education's Promise Neighborhoods Initiative, which aims to help community leaders put a definitive end to extreme poverty in inner-city neighborhoods by promoting what's known as a "cradle-to-career" educational plan. The grant's matching half came from the William Penn Foundation and other groups.

Universal was one of only 21 nonprofit and educational groups to receive the Promise Neighborhoods planning grant, which was inspired by the work of the Harlem Children's Zone organization. According to both Gamble and A. Rahim Islam, the president and CEO of Universal Companies, a good portion of the grant money will be used on various education reform initiatives.

Universal has until Sept. 30 to prepare a revitalization plan for the two neighborhoods, and in an effort to successfully achieve that goal, they've partnered with a wide range of other neighborhood associations.

"The children who are coming to school today are coming to school with a ton of issues, unlike we've ever seen, really, in modern times," says Islam, in a video about Universal and its work. "And so it's not enough to just think that these kids are going to overcome this dysfunction because you send them to school. So our goal is to reach out into the neighborhoods and try to fix some of the things that are ailing."

Source: Universal Companies
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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When the Obama administration announced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act two years ago, Philadelphia Housing Authority General Manager of Community Development and Design Michael Johns set to work getting applications in for as many projects as he could. From fixing blight in Mill Creek to the construction of the Mantua Square development in West Philadelphia, many of PHA's wishes have since been answered. This week, PHA cut the ribbon on 340 rehabbed housing units scattered across the city. The development is PHA's largest stimulus-funded project to date and provides homes for people once living in shelters or on the street.

"PHA has over 1000 vacant properties so in terms of that inventory, this is a significant step forward in addressing our scattered sites portfolio," says Johns. "In addition to that, this project makes a statement to the city and to the communities that we are in that we are committed to addressing their concerns about public housing."

Not only were the homes substantially rehabbed, 71 of the homes were made handicap-accessible, complete with ramped entrances and chair-lifts, allowing handicapped residents the opportunity to live on their own. In accordance with the Stimulus funding they received, PHA brought all homes to greater energy efficiency through sustainable improvements including improved insulation, energy efficient air and water heaters, doors, windows and Energy Star appliances and fixtures.

"In these older homes, energy is always a concern and we were ready to meet the energy criteria outlined in the stimulus funding," says Johns. "We worked with caulking, insulation, and weather stripping to seal those leaks and reduce the amount of energy lost in these new units."

Source: Michael Johns, Philadelphia Housing Authority
Writer: John Steele

While the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) remains hard at work on the Philadelphia 2035 plan--a strategic, long-term document focused on creating a stronger future for Philadelphia's transit and development--another group of planners have gotten in on the act. What these planners lack in knowledge, they more than make up for in experience living in Philadelphia and observing the functionality of city design and services.

These concerned community members are part of a pilot program called the Citizen's Planning Institute (CPI), an educational program working to empower citizens to make their voices heard in the planning process. Funded by the William Penn Foundation, CPI offers basic lessons in everything from land use to zoning issues, placing extra emphasis on under-represented communities around Philadelphia, in the hopes of creating more dynamic, city-wide development.

"We targeted specifically neighborhoods not as experienced with the process to be more active and effective with a focus on a "planning 101 approach," says CPI Director Donna Carney. "So they could see that they have the power to change their neighborhoods through this process."

The pilot program attracted 100 applicants, of which 30 were chosen to represent their neighborhoods. The resulting panel contained over 850 years of Philadelphia residency and helped shape a planned expansion to the program in 2011. The current students "graduate" when the courses conclude on Dec. 6 but plans are already in the works to add elective topics such as urban design, historic preservation, marketing and finance.

"As we expand on the program going forward, a whole variety of outreach activities could be handled by the Citizen's Planning Institute in the future," says PCPC Director of Planning and Policy Alan Urek.  "We would look to it to help inform some of the recommendations on the comprehensive plan."

Source: Donna Carney, Citizen's Planning Institute
Writer: John Steele

The property at 4726 Baltimore Avenue in West Philly was made to be a bank. With its stone columns and regal marblework, the building has housed many community banks and even a church over the years. But with community support, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation funding and city grants, this big-business stalwart will soon be home to another neighborhood staple, Mariposa Food Co-Op.

Since the early 1970's, Mariposa has been selling organic, locally-grown food to neighborhood residents, employing a cast of regulars as volunteer grocers, and educating the community about food. But recent spikes in sales--the co-op is currently doing $1 million in annual sales from a 500 square-foot retail space) called for an expansion.

"The sheer size of our store is something that has limited us in our ability to stock a broader selection of inventory as well as a larger amount of the things that we do stock," says Mariposa Director of Development Esteban Kelly. "A wider variety of inventory will allow us to appeal to different cultural groups and the space will allow us to expand certain departments that are now smaller in the current space."

Beyond expanding inventory on the shopping floor, the second level will house a community center and classrooms in what was once boardrooms and offices. What once were vaults will now be cold storage and preparation rooms. With Phase 2, Mariposa hopes to build a green roof, and a beehive. And in the future, Phase 3 will feature a second-floor caf� with prepared foods, creating a neighborhood social center that is right on the money.

"This expansion is driven by our mission to provide healthy food to a neighborhood that doesn't have that," says Kelly. "We were driven by the pragmatics of the situation. Our growth has been explosive and we completely ran out of space. This should help with that."

Source: Esteban Kelly, Mariposa Food Co-Op
Writer: John Steele

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When the Philadelphia Housing Authority created the Lucien E. Blackwell housing plan that would see the demolition of the Mill Creek Housing Development in 2000, they knew they couldn't stop with just a few buildings. Growing up in the Mill Creek neighborhood as a kid, architect Michael Johns knew that certain blocks in the distressed neighborhood could help bring the new Mill Creek back stronger. But after adding over 700 housing units and an assisted living facility, there was not enough left to save the most distressed block in the neighborhood, the 800 block of Markoe Street.

Johns, who acts as PHA's General Manager of Community Development and Design, and his colleagues had a plan. They would host a design competition while the plan waited for funding. PHA chose Jibe Design, a small Center City firm. Funding finally became available and the project began construction earlier this month. This week, the American Institute for Architecture acknowledged the project with one of 16 national awards for design excellence.

"So often with (this type of) housing, there is a challenge to get something that is modern and sustainable and cost-effective," says Johns. "And we didn't want to create something that, in ten years looked like bell bottoms and a tie-dye shirt. We needed something that would last."

What they got was a proposal for 17 rehabs and six new constructions, all LEED Platinum. This is no ordinary public housing. Exposed brick, reclaimed wood beams and modern amenities finally give Markoe Street the renovation that began here 10 years ago. As for Johns and his team, the project was worth the wait.

"What this award shows is, at the base level, there are folks at the Housing Authority that are committed to changing neighborhoods and this award really draws attention to that effort," says Johns.

Source: Michael Johns, Philadelphia Housing Authority
Writer: John Steele

There is an old saying in Lebanon that one who doesn't drink coffee is in danger of losing his nationality. Lebanese residents of West Philadelphia with dual citizenship need not worry because a new caf� is bringing a taste of Lebanon to University City, a neighborhood known for fine international cuisine.

In a historic Philadelphia building that was once a printing company and, more famously, a bank, general manager Abd Ghazzawi has completed construction on Manakeesh Caf� Bakery, a modern spin on the traditional Lebanese breakfast. The caf� will offer coffee and Lebanese pastry made on site. With Saad's Halal Restaurant across the street, it will give the corner of 45th and Walnut a distinct Lebanese flavor.

"The concept is centered around the Manakeesh, which is a Lebanese flatbread sandwich," says Ghazzawi. "We have imported an oven from Lebanon to bake everything on-site, but we have a lot of Lebanese merged with American concepts. You can get the flatbread sandwich in all different flavors like an egg and cheese or a tuna melt or a pizza."

Also on the block is the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects mosque that, according to Ghazzawi, gives Manakeesh a strategic location to become a mainstay in this diverse neighborhood. With community support coming from the Enterprise Center CDC and various neighborhood associations, Ghazzawi hopes to use his location to draw in not only customers but local artists and employees to make Manakeesh a truly neighborhood experience. And of course, he'll keep the coffee and the Lebanese nationality flowing.

"We plan to support the mosque in all their efforts, from block parties to school fundraisers," says Ghazzawi. Having a fairly good-sized space definitely works to our advantage to hold community meetings here and partner with the community in many different ways."

Source: Abd Ghazzawi, Manakeesh Caf� Bakery
Writer: John Steele