FUNDING PART OF NEW STRATEGY FOCUSING INVESTMENT ON NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS
Philadelphia, February 8 – This afternoon Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Deputy Mayor Andy Altman announced that two programs will direct $13 million to developments and small businesses along high-potential commercial corridors across Philadelphia. These targeted investments are part of a larger effort to support small businesses during this period of economic downturn.
“Commercial corridors are at the heart of maintaining healthy and vibrant neighborhoods,” said Mayor Nutter. “Investing in local businesses now underscores our commitment to ensuring that neighborhoods emerge from this recession stronger than ever.”
The $13 million is allocated across two programs:
The Targeted Blocks Façade Grant Program is a new Administration initiative that will provide five $200,000 grants ($1 million total) to key commercial corridors across the City. Grant funds will be used to help businesses make external improvements to their buildings, including painting and signage upgrades. These changes will improve the aesthetics and overall business climate along the corridors.
The commercial corridors that will receive awards were selected based on their potential for growth and corresponding potential for positive change in the surrounding neighborhoods due to increased commercial activity. Grants will be distributed to Community Development Corporations operating along the corridors, which will work with local business owners to identify and execute façade improvement projects. Funding for the program comes from bonds issued in 2007 and will not impact the City’s General Fund.
Targeted Blocks Façade Grant Recipients:
3900 & 4000 Blocks of Lancaster Avenue
(CDC – People’s Emergency Center)
6700,6800, 7100, 7200 Blocks of Germantown Avenue
(CDC — Mt Airy USA)
Ridge Avenue from Green Lane to Leverington Avenue
(CDC — Roxborough Development Corporation)
5600 Block of North Fifth Street
(CDC — Korean Community Development Services Center)
2700, 2800 & 2900 Blocks of North Fifth Street
(CDC – HACE Commercial Development Corporation)
The Commercial Revitalization Deduction Program allows the City to allocate Federal tax credits to developers building or renovating projects in economically disadvantaged Renewal Communities. This year, the City awarded $12 million in credits to six projects on or near commercial corridors across Philadelphia. Projects range from a job placement center and charter school to apartments and office space. Collectively, they will leverage approximately $56 million in private construction and create 622 full time jobs. The funding for this program consists entirely of Federal tax credits and does not impact the City’s General Fund.
Commercial Revitalization Deduction Recipients
Wexford-UCSC II, LP: $4,155,000 million credit for new construction at The Science Center
Sedgely Avenue Properties, LP: $5,106,389 credit for a mixed use building including a job placement center and a charter school.
Laminated Materials Corporation: $507,000 for factory and office space.
Sally Gardens, LP: $726,611 for apartment, retail, and office space.
3820 Lancaster Ave LLC: $617,000 for apartment and office space.
Cenova, Incorporated: $492,500 for office and truck dispatching space.
The two programs announced today are only a part of a larger initiative designed to aid commercial corridors in their role as the economic lifeblood of our neighborhoods.
Other recent initiatives include:$8 million in Gap Financing Loans to help jumpstart stalled commercial and mixed-use development along commercial corridors, $1.6 million in Targeted
Redevelopment Project grants to commercial and mixed-use building projects along commercial corridors, $500,000 in Merchants Fund Corridor Partnership grants to The Merchants Fund to support new and expanding retail along commercial corridors.
