Development News

Wells Fargo and the People’s Emergency Center have a 25-year relationship, one of many the West Philadelphia institution uses to leverage its expertise in community development. 
 

That relationship got a six-year extension worth $600,000, announced at a special event last Thursday inside a building symbolic of PEC’s recent impact in West Philly – 3861 Lancaster Ave., the official home for the organization’s Make Your Mark neighborhood planning campaign and a formerly vacant storefront church redesigned by PEC and Interface Studio.

 

According to Kira Strong, PEC's Vice President of Community and Development, that funding will have the following impact in the first year:

- 179 jobs (mostly construction)

- 14 facade renovations (residential and commercial)

- 150 youth and adults trained on computers

- 1,000 community  members served in some way

 

While these estimates are conservative and impacts for beyond Year 1 are still being developed, the old church was buzzing with anticipation of both the announcement and the next steps in the PEC-led neighborhood planning process. That yearlong process will culminate in a public meeting on April 10, when priorities for implementation will be suggested. Nearly 400 door-to-door surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews informed the plan.

 

The $600,000 funding is part of a tax credit partnership run by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development known as the Neighborhood Partnership Program. PEC's ongoing neighborhood plan will inform the NPP's six-year plan. It's the second time PEC has won NPP funding with Wells Fargo's support.

 

"We're really trying to leverage the funding we've received and the momentum we've gained in seeing marked improvement in our community," says Strong.

Source: Kira Strong, People's Emergency Center