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.

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.

As rates of vaccination rise, recovery is beginning from the outside – more people on sidewalks, at outdoor cafes, in parks and public spaces – and gradually impacting the inside – more customers, more hotel guests and more workers slowly returning. As of May 10th, 487,092 Philadelphia residents, 39.2% of the adult population, were fully vaccinated according to the CDC, with the City reporting approximately half of adults receiving at least their first shot.

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.

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.