This district, generally bounded by Lancaster Avenue, Girard Avenue, Belmont Avenue and 52nd Street, is West Philadelphia's oldest and largest industrial area. The district covers approximately 180 acres of land along the "Main Line" railroad tracks that are used by AMTRAK and SEPTA trains. The district was designated as the West Parkside Enterprise Zone in 1983.
Eighty companies are located here. Most existing businesses occupy older industrial buildings on Lancaster and Parkside Avenues, but a new industrial park built on land previously occupied by a large railroad storage and switching yard promises to add many more new buildings and jobs to the Enterprise Zone.
The Enterprise Zone is surrounded by Fairmount Park and three West Philadelphia neighborhoods: East Parkside, West Parkside and Cathedral Park. Recommendations in this Plan call for residential renewal at several locations in Parkside and Cathedral Park (see Part Three: Neighborhoods and Housing).
Enterprise Zones Incentives to Business
- Low interest loans
- State tax credits
- Utility discounts
- Job training
- Infrastructure improvements
The State Enterprise Zone program focuses on the revitalization of this section of West Philadelphia using economic development and neighborhood improvement strategies in tandem. The goal is to create new jobs and retain existing jobs in the area. The neighborhoods that surround the Enterprise Zone can supply the labor that will meet the needs of local employers. People who move into new and rehabilitated housing will be able to walk to their place of employment. Longtime residents will also be able to find work in the Enterprise Zone.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has established four Enterprise Zones in the City, and businesses in each zone are eligible for special financial incentives provided by the Commonwealth. Job training and job placement programs are also provided in each Enterprise Zone. In West Philadelphia, the West Parkside Job Resource Center was established for this purpose. The job resource center tailors its services to the needs of local businesses.
The 60-acre Parkside Industrial Park is the centerpiece of the West Parkside Enterprise Zone. This business park, managed by Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (P.I.D.C.), provides a resource that West Philadelphia had lacked: large, fully prepared building sites for light industrial development, located in close proximity to interstate highways. New streets and utilities have been constructed with state funds, and two companies have constructed new facilities (Bell of Pennsylvania and Wade Cablevision). Now, the City should focus on improving the entrance to the industrial park and increasing its visibility from Parkside Avenue. The entrance, which today is barely noticeable, could become an impressive calling card that would be noticed by regular passersby and by people who are visiting the nearby Mann Music Center.
The West Parkside Enterprise Zone contains another valuable resource that complements the industrial park. The Philadelphia Business and Technology Center, 5070 Parkside Avenue, is a 321,000 square foot "business incubator" facility that provides specialized support services for start-up companies. Forty-eight businesses are currently located at the P.B.T.C. Flexible space is available in this six-story building, and much of the space offers beautiful views of Fairmount Park, the Mann Music Center and Center City Philadelphia.
Lancaster Avenue forms one of the boundaries of the Enterprise Zone. Industrial activity is appropriate along Lancaster Avenue, but the corridor's appearance is badly in need of improvement. A design competition should be conducted to identify ways to improve the streetscape along this corridor -- perhaps through the use of unified signage, landscaping, screening and sidewalk treatments.
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