Private Investment in West Philadelphia
Private investment is taking place in every section of West Philadelphia. Investors are improving neighborhood conditions, building new housing, creating new offices and research facilities, and modernizing universities and hospitals. Private investment is flourishing in University City and along the City Avenue corridor, and the prospects are good for additional private development in the West Parkside Enterprise Zone and near 46th & Market Streets. Additionally throughout the area, individual homeowners and owners of small rental properties are investing in maintenance and home improvement projects.

This summary of recent private investment looks at expenditures made since 1980. It demonstrates that the private sector is actively investing in West Philadelphia.

Construction Activity
Building permit data gives a picture of construction activity and private investment. The monetary value of building permits by category, for the years 1987-91, is summarized in Table 6.

Table 6

The amount of investment by category reflects West Philadelphia's inherent land use pattern; i.e. the district has an abundance of institutions, and compared to many other sections of the city, it has a small amount of industry. The information on expenditures by year shows that investment has generally been declining during the 1987-91 time span -- a trend that is consistent with the broader national economy. The majority of expenditures in the "Other" category are government dollars used for public works projects.

Private Investment in Housing
Residential building permit activity for the years 1980 through 1987 was analyzed in the West Philadelphia District Plan Working Paper, released in 1990. It states that 1,787 dwelling units were built or rehabilitated during the 1980-87 period. More recent building permits (see Table 7) show that an additional 750 units were added in West Philadelphia during the years 1988 through 1991; this is an average of 188 new units per year.

The 188-per-year average is less than the 1980-to-1987 average of 223 units per year, indicating that the pace of residential construction in West Philadelphia has slowed. Moreover, the 1991 data is indicative of a serious and sudden decline in residential construction and investment.

Table 7

Of the 750 dwelling units that were added to West Philadelphia's housing stock between 1988 and 1991, the largest single project was the second phase of the Lincoln Greene Apartments in the Wynnefield Heights neighborhood, but the vast majority of the additional units resulted from subsidized multi-family rehabilitation projects such as the Admiral Court, Dorset, Locust, Dunlap and Von Louhr Apartments.

Table 8

*Legend (Type of Unit:)

Family : F

Elderly : E

Handicapped : Ha

Homeless/

Transitional : H

As shown on the accompanying list of recent housing developments, 3,177 dwelling units have been produced since 1980 through private initiative (combined with the various public incentives). Of the 39 developments on the list, 29 are reserved for low and moderate income persons. These 29 affordable housing developments contain 1,874 dwelling units for low and moderate income occupancy.

Table 9

Legend (Type of Unit:)

Family : F

Elderly : E

Handicapped : Ha

Homeless/

Transitional : H

Infrastructure and Community Facilities:
The Capital Program is the City of Philadelphia's annual spending plan for the development and maintenance of city-owned infrastructure and facilities.

During the past several years (fiscal years 1988 through 1993), over $42 million in capital funds has been spent in West Philadelphia. The majority of the projects were for the renovation of public facilities (as opposed to the construction of new facilities). Renovations were made at four fire stations, two branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia, two district health centers, the Medical Examiner's Office, the Civic Center, thirteen West Philadelphia playgrounds or recreation centers, nine facilities in West Fairmount Park, and two facilities at the Philadelphia Zoo. Other capital expenditures were for public transit projects: the new University City Rail Station, improvements to 30th Street Station, and improvements to the commuter rail system in West Philadelphia. Cobbs Creek Park was improved during the past five years, and capital funds were spent on highways and bridges at many West Philadelphia locations.

Part Five of The Plan for West Philadelphia provides a description of "Community Facilities and Services" in West Philadelphia.

Housing and Community Development:
Between 1974 and 1987, federal Community Development funds were targeted to the neighborhoods of Mantua, West Parkside, Cobbs Creek and Carroll Park for purposes of housing rehabilitation, loans and grants to homeowners, improvements to streets and sidewalks, social services and community oversight. These activities are still being funded on a case-by-case basis within West Philadelphia, and the "Homestart" rehabilitation/sales program for subsidized homeownership is currently targeted to blocks in the Mantua and East Parkside neighborhoods.

Community Development funds have been used for the construction or rehabilitation of over 1,200 housing units between 1980 and 1993, at a cost of more than $16.9 million. An additional $5.6 million was spent during the same time period for new curbs and sidewalks in West Philadelphia residential areas; 145 block faces were rebuilt with these funds. Other Community Development expenditures that have supported neighborhood revitalization efforts (1980 through 1993) are: $5.1 million to assist in the construction of social service and community centers by non-profit organizations, $784,000 for the delivery of social service programs by community-based providers, and $1.6 million for support programs such as community-based planning, counseling to renters and homebuyers, extra police services, community clean-ups, community gardens and free paint to homeowners.

Redevelopment:
Eight Urban Renewal Areas exist in West Philadelphia. Urban renewal is a program which utilizes government's power of eminent domain to purchase blighted property for the purpose of redevelopment. In Philadelphia, the urban renewal program is managed by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia. The Redevelopment Authority purchases land in an urban renewal area and eventually sells the land to a developer. By law, the Redevelopment Authority must have the approval of the Planning Commission and City Council at different points in the redevelopment process.

Urban renewal has been used in West Philadelphia since 1963, and it has made dramatic changes in the area. The eastern section of Mantua, near 34th Street, has been revitalized with new sales housing, new apartments, a recreation center, a public library and two new playgrounds. In Haddington near 56th & Vine Streets, a modern town center has been created with a new shopping center, elementary school, library, three mid-rise apartment buildings and a recreation center. In the West Mill Creek Urban Renewal Area in the vicinity of 46th & Fairmount, 155 townhouses were built in 1972 on urban renewal land and the homes were sold to moderate income families; Mill Creek has also seen new rental housing, a modern nursing home and a new church built through urban renewal.

In West Philadelphia, the most visible impact of urban renewal has been in University City. The entire 22-acre campus of the University City Science Center was developed under the urban renewal program, and the Science Center now employs over 6,000 people. The majority of Drexel University's campus was acquired from the Redevelopment Authority, and the University of Pennsylvania has also expanded with urban renewal assistance. University City High School and the University City Townhouses are also built on land acquired from the Authority.

Urban Renewal Areas In West Philadelphia

Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization:
City funds rebuilt the sidewalks and curbs along six retail corridors during the late 1970s and early 1980s. This included the shopper's sidewalk canopy on 52nd Street and the state and city-funded reconstruction of Lancaster Avenue. Managed by the Philadelphia Commercial Development Corporation (P.C.D.C.), the Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization program continues to provide technical assistance and loan/rebate programs to area merchants. Approximately two million dollars has been directly invested in West Philadelphia's small businesses by P.C.D.C. between 1980 and 1993.

Economic Development:
Additional public funds, including more than $2.4 million in federal Community Development funds, were spent between 1980 and 1993 on other economic development activities in West Philadelphia. The CD-funded activities include several types of loans that are offered to businesses by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, physical development in the West Parkside Enterprise Zone, financial support for the job creation programs of the West Philadelphia Economic Development Corporation, and job training programs administered by the Parkside Association of Philadelphia.