neighborhood innovation : Development News

When you consider the fact that Philadelphia is so often referred to--especially by pundits and bloggers who closely follow urban planning issues--as a near-perfect incubator for what could easily become a model for the next great American city, it's hard to believe that the zoning code here hasn't been updated since 1960. But this past Tuesday, Feb. 15, was a truly historic day for the City of Philadelphia. That was the day the city's Planning Commission released its first draft of Philadelphia 2035, a wide-reaching, long-term plan for the very future of the city. A PDF version of the plan, which clocks in at a whopping 216 pages, can be downloaded on the Planning Commission's website and on its Facebook page.

The next steps in the journey of the Philadelphia 2035 plan include a mid-March discussion among Planning Commission members, which will then lead to mid-April revisions, and hopefully, a final version in mid-May. An event to celebrate the release of the document is scheduled for early June. Come March 1, meanwhile, a website for the city-wide plan will launch at phila2035.org, and on March 23, an open house will be held at the Center for Architecture, during which the public will be encouraged to participate and ask questions.

The plan itself explores three different strategies, or themes, that the PCPC hopes will help to guide Philadelphia into the future. Once the plan--which looks at everything from public transit to the development of public spaces such parks and the waterfront--is considered complete, the commission will create even more detailed plans covering the 18 distinct districts of the city.

The commission is currently soliciting the public's opinion of its plan; anyone interested in joining the conversation is encouraged to send feedback via email to [email protected].

Source: Philadelphia Planning Commission
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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The Clifton, NJ-based ARC Properties development company has been working for nearly two years now on an increasingly controversial hotel, retail and entertainment complex that will sit on the stretch of Race Street in Philadelphia between Fourth and Fifth streets and is scheduled to be operational sometime in 2012. But according to ARC's CEO, Robert Ambrosi, the project has only become controversial as a result of misinformation mixed with innuendo.

Ambrosi claims that his project, which is currently being referred to as Franklin Place, has the full support of the Independence Visitor Center and a number of other area groups. The Old City Civic Association, however, hasn't exactly given ARC Properties its undivided blessing, and Ambrosi thinks he knows why. "There's been a lot of wrong information in the press, unfortunately," he insists. "People are claiming we're putting in a nightclub. But this is really a hotel project with an attached restaurant and a small music venue."

Franklin Place will actually consist of two separate structures, one of them facing the residential community along Fourth Street, and the other facing Independence Mall, where no residential community exists. Understandably, the project has been the cause of much consternation among locals, although as Ambrosi explains, the Fourth Street-facing building will actually house a 55-unit residential complex. "We've been extremely sensitive that anything we do on the Fourth Street side of the project be very passive," he says. The structure facing Fifth Street, meanwhile, will be home to a 156-room Starwood Hotel, as well as a currently undecided combination of retail and dining venues.

Ambrosi originally wanted the complex to contain a bowling alley and a small live music space. His newest idea is to bring a Toby Keith-themed restaurant featuring live country-and-western music into the mix.

"This is a very, very important project to us," Ambrosi adds, "and we're going to make it a great project. I just want people to understand what we're doing."

Source: Robert J. Ambrosi, ARC Properties Inc.
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Close your eyes and picture this scene: Swanky poolside cabanas with flat-screen TVs. Tanned, twenty-something women stretched out on Balinese lounge chairs. A DJ spinning trip hop next to a roaring fire pit. It probably sounds like a setting straight out of coastal Florida or Southern California. And yet come this May, that's exactly the spectacle you'll find at the corner of West Allen Street and Germantown Avenue in Northern Liberties, right behind the artisanal retail complex known as The Piazza at Schmidt's.

Arrow Swim Club is the name of this long-awaited project, which is being overseen by Tower Investments' Bart Blatstein, who was almost entirely responsible for the redevelopment of the Northern Liberties neighborhood. In a somewhat unusual twist, Blatstein is partnering on the project with Nicole A. Cashman, CEO of the Cashman & Associates PR firm, which specializes in representing luxury brands.

Of course, there's a fairly decent chance that the 21-and-over swim club will, in fact, grow to become one of the best-known luxury brands in NoLibs. That's because aside from the poolside food and beverage service, the private spa, the swinging hammocks, the uber-chic cabana boys, and the upper-level sundeck, this inner-city oasis will be coming with one more surprise: $1,000 annual memberships.

This week, according to Jacklin Rhoads of Cashman & Associates, "One-thousand hand-selected, prospective members will receive invitations to a sneak-peek party, and an invitation to join the swim club." Memberships will be available to the public on March 7, but as Rhoads explains, "Everyone will have to fill out an application, pending management approval, with a background and credit check."

Chris Sheffield of the nearby SL Design firm is designing the project, which will feature a 1,380-square-foot pool. An open-to-the-public restaurant will reside next door to the swim club, and the first season runs through Sept. 30.

Source: Jacklin Rhoads, Cashman & Associates
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Sarah Clark Stewart, Campaign Director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, says while her organization has grown considerably over the past few years in Philadelphia proper, the activity has been decidedly less sin the suburbs.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's essentially why the Coalition organized its first-ever Biking the Suburbs Conference, which happened Feb. 12 at the Montgomery County Fire Academy in Conshohocken. At the workshop-style conference, cyclists who live or work in Delaware, Chester, Montgomery or Bucks counties not only had the opportunity to learn about the most pressing bike advocacy issues affecting their communities today--they also had the chance to interact with other like-minded area cyclists.

One of the main goals of the conference, says Clark Stewart, was to encourage the attendees to become just as politically involved as urban cyclists tend to be. "We want to help them advocate for whatever it is that they want," says Clark Stewart, "whether it's a new bike lane, or better conditions on the streets for bicycling."

To that end, planners from each of the four counties represented directed hour-long conversations about current transportation projects that directly affect suburban cyclists. Attendees learned how to go about the process of getting their own bike lines developed, for instance. They heard about the status of the high-profile Chester County and Schuylkill River trails, and about the controversial Betzwood Bridge project. They also learned about upcoming plans to create a more bike-friendly West Chester.

"I hope [the attendees learned] that there's a lot of potential to have an impact on their own place of residence," says Clark Stewart. "And that we want to help give them the tools they need to make those improvements."

To learn more about bicycle advocacy projects in your own community, visit the Bicycle Coalition online.

Source: Sarah Clark Stewart, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Wander through the front entrance of the recently-opened, two-story Jonathan Adler emporium at 33 N. 3rd Street in Philadelphia's Old City district, and what you'll find--amongst the quirky pottery and the furniture and housewares, which have something of an upscale Urban Outfitters vibe about them, and which Adler himself likes to refer to as 'happy chic'--is essentially a bricks-and-mortar metaphor for the current economic state of the city.

Adler's entree to the Old City retail scene, was, after all, seen as something of a surprise--albeit a very pleasant one--to the cadre of local bloggers and journalists who covered it. A Philadelphia Inquirer article by Flying Kite contributor Caroline Tiger, for instance, mentioned that a number of "home-and-design stores in Philadelphia [went] belly-up in 2010," including the store that previously occupied the space where Jonathan Adler now sits, Foster's Urban Homeware.

But thanks to the season he spent as a judge the Bravo's reality TV show Top Design, Adler--who still considers himself more of a potter than a retailer--occupies a slightly more rarefied public space than the boutique owners who were forced to close their doors last year. His celebrity status, in fact, may very well play an important role in keeping his Old City boutique in the black while the economic strength of the city, hopefully, continues to creep ever upward.

"We have long been interested in having a presence in Philadelphia, and were thrilled to find a fabulous space in Old Town," says company spokesperson Starrett Zenko. "We are thrilled to be there!"

And Philadelphia, quite clearly, is just as thrilled. Here's to hoping we all feel the same way this time next year.

Source: Starrett Zenko, Jonathan Adler
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Historically speaking, North Philadelphia certainly hasn't been a part of town known for inspiring trendy development projects. And that's exactly why last Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony at 600 N. Broad Street was welcomed with such hearty enthusiasm, especially by those who closely follow the city's ever-burgeoning restaurant scene.

Helmed by real estate developer Eric Blumenfeld, who has long been working to turn the stretch of North Broad Street between City Hall and Temple University into a sort of artistically gentrified urban playground, the 600 N. Broad Street mixed-use development will feature the projects of two restaurateurs and one caterer whose aesthetics might seem better suited to Old City, or even Northern Liberties or East Passyunk.

Stephen Starr, who supposedly has plans to launch at least four new restaurants in 2011, will be building a seafood restaurant known as Route 6 on the site, which was most recently home to the Wilkie Chevrolet-Buick Subaru dealership. Marc Vetri, meanwhile, will open a beer bar known as Birreria 600, and Joe Volpe (of the Cescaphe Event Group) will open a 700-capacity catering venture. Nearly 100 new apartments will also be a major part of the project, which comes with a $43 million price tag, $18 million of which will be publicly funded. The project is expected to be complete by October 2011.

Source: EB Realty Management Corporation and PMC Property Group
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Ask just about any tourist in Philadelphia to name one of the city's many museums, and it's quite unlikely they'll mention the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, regardless of the fact that it is the nation's oldest art museum and school. And that's partially why, after many years of planning, PAFA has finally begun construction on an outdoor civic space that will be known as Lenfest Plaza.

The Plaza's official groundbreaking ceremony took place on Feb. 2. It revealed the stretch of Cherry Street between Broad and 15th that will soon be closed to traffic and developed with a slew of urban amusements open to the public. The Plaza will feature an upscale restaurant, for instance, which will go into PAFA's Hamilton Building. It will be home to an outdoor exhibition of rotating artwork. There will also be a very welcome series of curved benches, and then, of course, the piece de resistance: a 53-foot-tall paintbrush designed by the pop artist Claes Oldenburg, the bristles of which will be illuminated like a torch.

According to Marsha Braverman, PAFA's Executive VP of Marketing and Communications, the idea to create the plaza initially came about after PAFA's purchase of the Hamilton building; it was agreed upon by the board that a plaza would naturally unite the school and museum buildings. "The idea (now)," says Braverman, "is when the conventioneers (at the newly expanded Convention Center) leave the front door, we're their first stop. And then if you walk down Lenfest Plaza, that leads right to the Parkway. So we're saying that we're really the start of the Museum Mile."

Construction of the $7.5 million Lenfest Plaza, which was designed by the local Olin landscape architectural firm, is expected to be complete this August, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for October.

Source: Marsha Braverman, PAFA
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Regardless of the fact that the Delaware Valley is nearly overflowing with historic older communities, it is nevertheless an unfortunate reality of the American mindset that if a town or suburb is newer, it's often also considered better.

That assessment, however, is one that the community planners at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission disagree with strongly. As a way to illustrate the imprudence of the newer-is-better philosophy, the DVRPC launched the Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia initiative in mid-2008, which still works to promote places like Media and Phoenixville as ideal communities in which to live and work.

And yet one of the DVRPC's newest community-building initiatives--the Strategies for Older Suburbs Roundtable Series--is bringing the region's various community leaders together in the very same room. After listening to ideas and suggestions from guest speakers, they're able to hammer out possible solutions for the very real economic problems hampering growth in their towns.

The general purpose of the roundtable series, says Karen Cilurso of the DVRPC, is to build relationships. "We find that sometimes communities can find a solution to their problems just by talking to their neighbor," she says. "And it (often) doesn't require millions of dollars."

The series' second event is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Feb. 9, at the DVRPC offices (190 N. Independence Mall West, 8th Floor, Philadelphia). The guest speakers will discuss the topics of old media and new media, with the ultimate goal of helping community leaders understand how to most successfully promote their towns.

According to Cilurso, the discussions are informal, with the topics suggested by the participants themselves. "We like [the discussions] to be very free flowing," she says, adding that many of the roundtable participants "are people (who are) really in the trenches, trying to bring business and residents back to the region."

The Roundtable Series happens quarterly; following Wednesday's meeting, the next event is scheduled for May 13.

Source: Karen Cilurso, DVRPC
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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If you've ever experienced the huge burst of inspiration that often accompanies a work-related seminar, you've probably also suffered the inevitable psychological let-down that tends to occur as the daily grind gets in the way of your best-laid plans. It's something even the most dedicated among us have experienced, and that's exactly why the story of Kensington Farms and the upcoming Green Wall Project is so inspiring.

The story starts with a visit of community leaders to a training session held annually by NeighborWorks America, a government-funded community building organization. The conference aims to help residents "come up with one good idea for their neighborhood," explains Ade Fequa of the New Kensington CDC.

And yet the team organized by Fequa and his colleague, Tom Potts, took that challenge one step further, and settled on two good ideas. Potts is heading up the Green Wall Project, which will use low-flow planters and wire mesh to literally create green, flowering walls alongside three neighborhood structures this spring, including Johnny Brenda's and Eileen's Hair Salon. The project is being paid for with a $2,000 grant from NeighborWorks, although Potts says other business owners in the area will soon be able to sponsor similar green walls on their own buildings for roughly $600.

The goal of Fequa's Kensington Farms project, meanwhile, which is being covered by a separate $2,000 NeighborWorks grant, is to convert a vacant lot at the corner of Frankford and Cambria into a garden operated by local residents. And although no deal has yet been inked on that particular lot, Fequa says he'll look elsewhere in the immediate area if need be. "There's a great disparity of fresh food that's available in the area," Fequa says, "and there's lot of drug activity and bad things happening there. We want to focus as many resources there as possible, so we can try to turn that area around."

Source: Ade Fequa and Tom Potts, New Kensington CDC Neighborhood Advisory Committee
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Back in November 2010, West Philadelphia's much-loved Mariposa Food Co-op announced that after decades of successfully selling healthy and sustainable food from its tiny storefront at 4726 Baltimore Ave., it would finally be moving to a much larger location that could better handle its quickly growing membership.

After eventually purchasing that larger location--the landmark Belmont Trust Company Building at 4824 Baltimore Ave.--and partnering with the sustainable Re:Vision Architecture company, the team at Mariposa is more prepared than ever to complete its upcoming relocation, which is currently expected to happen during the fall of 2011, according to Mariposa's Leah Pillsbury. "Our offices are now sitting in the new building, and construction is just starting," says Pillsbury. Along with financing from the PIDC, a Community Design Collaborative grant, and help from The Reinvestment Fund, low-interest loans from Mariposa customers have also been an important source of expansion funding.

Probably the biggest change scheduled to take place when Mariposa moves into its new ecologically-sustainable location, which will be home to 2,500 square feet of retail space, is that non-members will be able to shop there. As Pillsbury explains, "If we're saying that part of this project is to create food access in the neighborhood, then we have to make it accessible."

What's more, a slew of workshops and other projects scheduled to take place in the new building are currently being planned. A larger community meeting space will exist at the store, which is also currently planning its own rooftop garden, a small beekeeping center, and a number of cooking and nutrition classes. It's quite possible, of course, that other community-based events will have been planned by the time the new store opens. After all, as Pillsbury herself says, "What used to be a real niche market is now a more mainstream market. Organic food sales are up all around."

Source: Leah Pillsburgh, Mariposa Food Co-op
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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It can often be difficult for responsible consumers to think of retail chains as anything other than evil, monolithic entities. But a new annual competition sponsored in part by the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) is proving that some chain retailers are in fact among the most responsible members of their respective communities. And although a wide range of chains throughout the country were nominated for the contest, known as Best Chain on Main, a number of Philadelphia-based companies ended up practically sweeping the awards.

The purpose of the competition was to recognize those chains whose very presence assists commercial revitalization. As LISC MetroEdge Director Jake Cowan points out, "If you want to bring new business into a neighborhood, that starts with the storefronts themselves looking good, and looking healthy." According to Larisa Ortiz, a commercial district planner who helped organize the contest, the winners were also partially chosen "based on their investment in underserved urban markets."

Indeed, the Philadelphia-based apparel company Villa, which took home this year's top prize, is probably best known among retail insiders for its incredibly strong commitment to the low- and moderate-income communities where its 26 stores are located. "One of the reasons (Villa) won, in fact, is that they partner with the local community development corporations," says Cowan. "They hire almost exclusively from the community, and they sponsor things like clean-up days."

Also representing Philadelphia was the contest's third place winner, The Fresh Grocer, and Mugshots Coffee House and Cafe, which received an honorable mention.

"Chains have a large presence on our corridors, and (companies with) more than one store can have a greater impact in terms of helping with commercial revitalization," explains Cowan, when asked why the contest focused exclusively on chains. "The goal was to lift up the chains that are doing good work."

Source: Jake Cowan, LISC MetroEdge
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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You've got to give attorney David Orphanides a lot of credit. He's come up with an alternative to "artisanal," one of the more awkward-sounding terms in the English language. Jettisoning the word, but not the concept, Orphanides uses the more classic "crafted" when describing the four tenets that make up the philosophy of Fairmount's soon-to-open Fare restaurant, which also relies on local, organic and sustainable practices.

Orphanides eats organic and shops sustainably at home, so it makes total sense, he says, that Fare mirrors that lifestyle. "It's second nature for us. We couldn't see doing it any other way." Also on board are Savvas Navrosidis, who owns Fairmount Pizza, and attorney Andy Siegel.

Fare, which opens to the public in "early spring," eschews heavy creams and sauces for "food that's still very satisfying and filling." The projected 85-seat bar and restaurant located at 2028 Fairmount Avenue, across from Eastern State Penitentiary, is fit out with completely green, locally sourced furnishings. The black walnut bar comes from Pennsylvania trees. Wine, beer, and liquor served on that lovely expanse of local wood aims to be "biodynamic and organic, from local vineyards and distilleries," according to Orphanides.

Fare's menu evolved from an original concept of smaller snacks to include dishes for all appetites. Small plates and snacks range in price from $2-$8; salads are $6-$9, and main dishes range from $11-$18. Fare "started out more as a place for people to have a drink and socialize, more of a lounge" for Fairmount locals, but when chef Tim Bellew signed on, the menu expanded. Bellew's previous engagements include Fire in Cherry Hill, Black Eyed Susan in Long Beach Island, and MANNA catering in New York.

Source: David Orphanides, Fare Restaurant
Writer: Sue Spolan

It's hardly a stretch to refer to Philadelphia's Postgreen Homes as one of the most eco-conscious developers in the city, not to mention the most design-literate. After all, this is the group that executed the legendary 100k House in Fishtown, which in 2010 won the LEED for Homes Award from the U.S. Green Building Council.

And although the Postgreen group is now working on two equally impressive minimalist home projects--the Two point Five beta house in East Kensington and the incredibly cool Avant Garage rowhomes in Fishtown--the company is also prepping the details for what may very well be its largest and most ambitious development yet. Currently being referred to as the reNewbold project, it'll feature not only 16 rowhomes and two condos near the intersection of 16th and Moore--that's in the Newbold neighborhood, naturally--but also a corner retail space.

"Of all of South Philly, (Newbold was) one of the areas we were most interested in," says Postgreen's Nic Darling. "It's adjacent to a pretty vibrant and growing neighborhood in the Passyunk Square area, and at the same time, it still has the price point we want to get our stuff in at."

As of now, reNewbold is still a speculative project, and as Darling says, groundbreaking may not happen until early summer due to zoning and permitting issues. In the meantime, potentially interested rowhome and condo buyers can follow reNewbold's progress on the company's website and its 100k House Blog.

Not so interested in South Philly development? Not a problem. Postgreen's next project in the development pipeline is the much-ballyhooed, 14-house Awesome Town, which will be breaking ground this April or May along Fishtown's Moyer Street.

Source: Nic Darling, Postgreen Homes
Writer: Dan Eldridge