Central Philadelphia Development Corporation

CPDC membership provides exclusive access to programming and networking opportunities to expand your business in Center City Philadelphia.

Since its inception, CPDC has undertaken a number of initiatives to make Center City Philadelphia a more competitive place to do business.

Learn more about Industry leaders who are invested in the future of Center City Philadelphia.

Your business belongs in the heart of Philadelphia, the 5th largest metropolitan region in the country, a destination of choice for companies seeking a thriving urban setting.

Join the hundreds of business leaders making a difference in Center City.

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.

The pandemic has dramatically highlighted the interdependence of the diverse components of the Center City economy. Downtown offices drive demand for retail and restaurants and attract business travelers. Colleges and universities create demand for apartments, retail and restaurants, and supply graduates who replenish the workforce. Arts and cultural institutions draw regional visitors and tourists, and convention attendees book hotels and restaurants. Remove any of these interconnected components and vitality is challenged, while revenues that support citywide services are curtailed.

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.

Demand for Center City retail has been built upon a diversified base of office, education and health care workers, a large and growing downtown population and an expanding number of tourists and convention attendees. At the center of the region’s highway and transit system, Center City is the most concentrated employment node in the region, hosting 42% of Philadelphia’s jobs, creating opportunity for residents of all city neighborhoods and surrounding counties.

CPDC's bi-weekly newsletter with a roundup of real estate, development, economic, government and other news concerning Center City Philadelphia.

In October, CPDC surveyed its members and Board members of the CCD to determine what percent of their employees were currently working in the office downtown, the expected timetable for the majority to return, the most important factors that needed to be addressed to facilitate a return to the office, and the biggest advantages of a safe return.