Cira Centre: 90% Leased

The office tower being constructed adjacent to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia – the first ever in University City - is almost fully leased out (see story). Out of 730,000 square feet, 412,000 square feet will be filled by tenants moving from within Center City. The remainder of the space will be filled by companies from outside the City and State. McKinsey & Company - an international consulting firm based in New York - will open its first Philadelphia office at the Cira Center. For those not in the consulting business, getting McKinsey in town is a big deal. It’s another indication that large, prestigious international businesses want to be in an urban setting that is economically and socially vibrant; America’s Hometown, Philadelphia, PA.

Breaking Wind?

The Pennsylvania Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Policy ("PCIEP") runs an energy purchasing collaborative made up of 34 member colleges and universities. Nine have increased their purchase of wind-generated electricity to at least 10 percent. These schools are Eastern University (32.2 percent), Dickinson College (12.1 percent), the University of Pennsylvania (10.4 percent), Juniata College (10 percent), Allegheny College (10 percent), Chatham College (10 percent), Duquesne University (10 percent), Keystone College (10 percent) and Mercyhurst College (10 percent). Instead of "burning the midnight oil", will people say that students pulling all nighters at these schools are "breaking wind"?

I See Dead People (voting, that is)

While it is not clear whether the Chairwoman of the Philadelphia City Commissioners has a vision for running fairer, more effective and efficient elections in the City, Marge Tartaglione is apparently psychic (see story).

Zoning Bills: First Steps Toward Reform?

Three deceivingly minor zoning bills may constitute a big first step towards regulatory reform in Philadelphia. These bills – proposed by the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia ("BIA") - will be considered at a public hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 24 in City Council Chambers.

These bills address difficulties encountered by those building/improving homes in Philadelphia. According to BIA, the bills would eliminate the outdated inner court requirements adopted to offer light and ventilation to tenements, exclude architectural features such as bay windows from setback requirements, and increase the maximum residential fence height to four ft. to permit Philadelphia homeowners to use standard retail fences. “If We Fix It, They Will Come” is BIA's agenda for “streamlining the development process and modernizing the zoning code” and can be downloaded here.

High School Students from West Philadelphia Build the Word’s First Hybrid “Super Car”

The car – that took almost two years to build - accelerates from 0 to 60 in four seconds and generates almost no greenhouse pollution (see story). The team is made up of 10th to 12th grade students from West Philadelphia High School's Automotive Academy. The sports car and the team that built it are leaving soon for the 17th Annual Tour de Sol, an alternative fuel vehicle event sponsored by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (“NESEA”).

Mayor Steps Down

Saying that the city "needs a fresh start." and that "[a] good leader knows when it is time to move on" the Mayor plans to step down on July 15. The Mayor’s announcement came after a recent Time Magazine article named him one of the three worst big-city mayors in the country and as a swirl of federal investigations has hindered his administration’s ability to effectively govern. Of course, I’m talking about the Mayor of San Diego, Dick Murphy. Did you have somebody else in mind?

Question: Does anybody have an opinion about what the Mayor of our City should be doing at this time, as former employees and associates are tried for and/or convicted of federal crimes? Should he be thinking about stepping down, for the good of the City? Should the public be thinking about retiring him - via the City Charter's recall provision?

Philadelphia Film Festival Set Record

The recently completed 2005 Philadelphia Film Festival drew record crowds; 65,101, up 4,000 over last year's record, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Of 300 screenings held from April 7 to 20, a record 90 were sellouts.

Corruption Trial Verdicts Troubling You? Let's Stop Play-to-Play

In March, Philadelphia City Council could have modernized City government by passing two of Councilman Michael Nutter's bills that would have significantly changed the method by which professional service contracts are solicited and secured. The bills each needed 12 yes votes, but fell one vote short in each case. If you're disappointed, let the "status quo five" (the five Councilpeople who didn't support the bills) know that you are disappointed in them and want them to approve these bills - or similar pieces of legislation - when they come up in the future. Here's the website: http://www.stoppaytoplay.info

Cira Center is Filling Up

According to the Center City District, the Cira Centre has landed three new tenants; all are relocating from the Main Line. Mand Marblestone & Danziger - a Bala Cynwyd law firm - has leased 10,000 square feet. Reger, Rizzo, Kavulich & Darnall - a King of Prussia law firm - has signed a lease for 27,600 square feet. And Capsicum Group - a technology-consulting firm - is relocating from Berwyn, square footage unknown. Filling up this building and luring firms from outside the City is fantastic, but don't forget that they're coming in part because of the Keystone Opportunity Zone tax incentives. These tax incentives are fantastic, but think of all the other firms we'd lure if we could lower the tax burden more universally.

Philadelphia Construction Boom: Unprecedented

Ninety-five construction projects are under way in Philadelphia, with an aggregate value of $3 billion. The quantity and cost of these projects is unprecedented. In particular, Center City has never seen anything like it. The Philadelphia Business Journal has a good wrap up.

RecycleBank a “Raging Success” - Increases Residential Recycling Rates to over 50%

RecycleBank has brought a groundbreaking recycling concept to neighborhoods in Philadelphia's “Fabulous Northwest” (see story). RecycleBank provides the City of Philadelphia with bar code technology that tracks a household’s recycling volume; households subsequently earn points that can be redeemed for coupons at local businesses. Cities and towns around the nation are looking to Philadelphia as the laboratory for this novel approach to incentivizing household recycling. Patrick Fitzgerald – one of RecycleBank’s founders – reports that the recycling rate in Chestnut Hill neighborhoods served by RecycleBank has increased from 15.5% to 50% percent since the program began in January. Initially, 600 households were involved; the program has since doubled. RecycleBank was launched by social entrepreneurs Fitzgerald (who is from Jenkintown) and Philadelphia native Ron Gonen, who conjured up the business model while graduate students.

RiverLink Ferry Season Begins

The RiverLink Ferry is now operating between Penn’s Landing and the Camden waterfront. The ferry runs Friday to Sunday from April to October. Daily service is available from May through September. Another ship - the Independence - will offer 90-minute harbor tours beginning May 1.

School District Establishes Center City Region

The School District of Philadelphia – led by the visionary CEO Paul Vallas - has established a 10th, separate region for Center City that includes all public elementary, middle and high schools in the area circumscribed by Poplar Street, Washington Avenue, and the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. This initiative is a collaborative effort of the Center City District and Philadelphia School District designed to improve public school options for Center City residents through marketing campaigns, expansion of school choice programs and infrastructure improvements. For more information, go to the Center City Schools Initiative.

Philadelphia and the BPT: Imperfect Together

The Philadelphia Inquirer had an interesting story this weekend about Philadelphia’s wage tax. It talked about recent wage tax collection data and the story it tells; while employment and population continue to shrink (albeit slowly) incomes in Philadelphia are going up. The last four years for which the City has complete data – 2001 through 2004 – indicate that private-sector jobs in Philadelphia decreased approximately 4.3 percent. The wage tax rate paid by residents and commuters also went down, as it has annually since 1996. However, aggregate wage tax revenue increase during that same period by over $60 million. These figures suggest that the “Philadelphia story is no longer one of straight-line loss in employment and people, but rather of an evolving city, gradually becoming home to higher-paying jobs and higher-earning residents.” However, Philadelphia's recent gains are apparently concentrated in sectors dominated by non-profit employers such as colleges and hospitals. Other industry sectors are either static or decreasing in Philadelphia, but growing elsewhere in the region. Firms that create such jobs are for-profit and subject to the City's tax on gross receipts and profits – the Business Privilege Tax. This tax receipt data suggests that such for-profits are apprehensive about investing in Philadelphia. What’s the solution? Continued incremental wage tax reductions and a wholesale reengineering of the business privilege tax, with a gradual phase out of the gross receipts portion. Philadelphia Forward and about a million other people have been talking about it for years; the question has been asked and answered, with anecdotal and empirical evidence proving the point over and over again.

Cruising from Philadelphia

The cruise ship terminal at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard will see more than 92,000 travelers this year, 50% more than last (see story). In fact, cruising from Philadelphia has become so popular that some are concerned that the former Navy Yard will run out of capacity for passenger handling. Not to worry. The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation - the agency that manages and markets the Naval Yard - is working with the Philadelphia Port Authority to find expansion space.

Another Philadelphia Hidden Treasure: The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education is a regional and national leader in urban environmental education. According to their website “The Schuylkill Center's primary purpose is to promote, through environmental education, the preservation and improvement of our natural environment by fostering appreciation, understanding and responsible use of the ecosystem; by disseminating information on current environmental issues; and by encouraging appropriate public response to environmental problems.” The Center owns over 400 acres of land in Andorra - the largest private parcel in Philadelphia - in the most northwesterly part of the City.

May is "Buy Local Philly Month"

When we buy local, money stays in our neighborhoods and helps build a strong, local economy. Did you know that for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 goes back into the community while only $14 comes back when that same $100 is spent at a chain store? A new campaign is launching in May to support local, independent Philadelphia business. For more information, check out www.buylocalphilly.com

February Results for Center City Hotels

Center City's hotels did well during a typically slow month. According to Tyson Hospitality Consulting, hotel occupancy was at 61.9%, a 3.7% increase from February 2004. Most rooms were occupied by commercial travelers (35%) with convention/meeting attendees and leisure travelers at 31% and 26%, respectively.

Tax Reform in Philadelphia: Ya Think?

According to Philadelphia Forward, “A 1998 study by Vertex, Inc., a state and local tax research and software firm, determined that Philadelphia’s business tax burden was the highest among 27 major U. S. cities. The study estimated the combined federal, state, and local tax liability of a representative service company with $15 million in gross revenue and $1.5 million profits. In terms of local business taxes, Philadelphia’s tax burden ranked fourth out of 27 cities, behind only New York City, Chicago, and Cleveland. While the overall business tax burden in Philadelphia in 1998 declined by 2.15 percent from the 1993 estimate published in a previous Vertex report—more than any other city—the overall tax burden in Philadelphia in 1998 remained the highest among the 27 comparison cities.” Think this is just a concern to big and wealthy corporations? Not exactly; small businesses are excoriated by our City’s oppressive tax burden. Check out this recent film by Philadelphia Forward that chronicles the plight of small business in our town.

Clinton, Rendell, Kvaerner, and $1 Billion Dollars

As reported by KYW radio, former president Bill Clinton and former Mayor and now Governor Ed Rendell were in town today for the announcement of a $1 billion, 10-ship deal at the Kvaerner shipyard. Before Kvaerner, the former Philadelphia Navy Yard had gone three decades without a constructing a new ship. Ten double-hulled ships (pursuant to new environmental safety regulations) are to be fabricated, guaranteeing over 1,000 jobs through 2010 and could possibly generate 5,000 jobs in service/trade businesses that support the facility. Reviving the shipbuilding industry in Philadelphia was fueled by an infusion of hundreds of millions of Federal and State economic development funding; cynics and realists alike thought this might be too much. While hindsight is certainly 20/20 and nobody should gloat about the fabulous success of this revival initiative, it should be an inspiration to the Philadelphia region and others who would bring back manufacturing jobs to a city that used to be known as the “workshop of the world.”