Working every day to enhance the vitality of Center City.

Center City District has helped transform downtown Philadelphia with a simple but ambitious mission to make the downtown clean, safe and attractive for people to work, live and enjoy.

Enjoy sunshine and socially distanced seating at CCD managed parks- Dilworth Park, Sister Cities Park and Cret Park. Fountains have returned on low water settings. Check back for more updates soon.

The Center City District Foundation is pleased to announce the successful launch of a new initiative, Plant Center City, which has the goal of planting 200 new trees in the central business district during the next two years.

On September 28, 2021, CPDC hosted an in-person panel discussion at the Union League about real estate industry trends, as highlighted in CPDC’s just released, annual Developments report (live link) The Union League required that everyone have proof of vaccination on hand and all attendees really appreciate the opportunity to catch at the first full, in-person CPDC meeting in 19 months.

Consider a move to Center City Philadelphia, a vibrant 24-hour city, with great housing options in charming downtown neighborhoods, each with its own unique character and atmosphere. Local neighborhoods offer easy access to jobs, cultural venues, great shopping and day-to-day amenities by foot, bike, public transit or car.

This edition of the CCD and CPDC quarterly newsletter contains a picture gallery of the work of our staff keeping sidewalks clean and buildings graffiti free; stories about the remarkable things our CSRs do every day of the week to assist pedestrians downtown; and our work in partnership with Project Home to connect those living on the street with services and shelter.

Philadelphia has continued its slow but steady job recovery in September, led by growth in educational services, leisure, hospitality and government and supplemented by the gradual return of office workers. As a result, the unemployment rate declined. Rising transit ridership, parking occupancy and pedestrian volumes reflect the full return of colleges and universities, the reopening of performing arts venues, the steady return of tourists, convention attendees, regional shoppers and the partial return office workers. With the holiday shopping season just beginning and, assuming no recurring health crises, the recovery will accelerate.

This is a transformational moment for Philadelphia, when investments in economic development funded by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) can be combined with the long-recommended changes to Philadelphia's tax structure to prompt faster and more equitable citywide job growth.

Center City Philadelphia Developments 2021 is an in-depth report on current and upcoming major projects in Center City. The report includes a map and full-color photos or renderings and project descriptions of all 63 major developments in Center City Philadelphia, categorized by type. An interactive map features all of the developments found within the publication.

State of Center City 2021: Restoring, Returning, Reanimating, is a comprehensive overview of marketplace conditions in Philadelphia at the end of 2020. It provides detailed profiles of the diverse employment sectors that comprise the downtown economy, highlighting strengths and challenges as we entered 2021. It includes information on housing and transportation trends and serves as a report on CCD operations and their impact in the last year.

Greater Center City housing markets showed extraordinary resilience in the last year. While the pandemic impaired many parts of Philadelphia’s economy, the housing sector recovered quickly citywide, buoyed by historically low interest rates and continued interest in city living.

SEPTA is working day and night to keep their riders and staff safe and healthy, whether they’re taking Regional Rail downtown or making their way around town on our subways, buses or trolleys.

This CCD, CPDC report examines business density and the disparities between the number of Black-owned and white-owned businesses in Philadelphia and compares them to four other East Coast cities.

This CCD, CPDC report suggests that Philadelphia should increase its commitment to quality of life investments and resume its prior commitments to tax reduction, in order to retain and attract residents and businesses and spur widespread and inclusive private-sector job growth.

After decades of job loss, Philadelphia has enjoyed nine straight years of job growth that accelerated in 2014. Despite the recent upturn however, the city has rebounded more slowly than most peer cities.

Center City District is bringing back the Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market on Saturday, November 20 and the Deck the Hall Light Show on Monday, November 22, completing the seasonal transformation of Dilworth Park that began with the November opening of the Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink, Cabin and the Wintergarden on the Greenfield Lawn presented by TD Bank

CCD and CPDC have been working since 1999 to improve the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. In 2004, CPDC released an improvement plan that has guided all CCD investments since then including: new directional and interpretive signage, pedestrian and architectural lighting, the renovation of Aviator Park, the redesign of Three Parkway Plaza and the redesign of Sister Cities Park.The goal of all these projects has been to transform the Parkway into an animated, pedestrian-friendly cultural campus.

CCD, Project Home and Philadelphia Police have partnered to create combined outreach teams that help people living on the streets connect with services and shelter.