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Jobs are back, salaries are rising, Center City’s population continues growing, conventions, tourism and retail are all rebounding, and pedestrian vitality is almost fully restored in many portions of the downtown. Office vacancy, however, is rising, challenged by a partial return to office and reinforced by a wage tax that encourages suburban residents to remain remote.
This new CCD/CPDC report examines the current state of the downtown restaurant and retail sectors. Using pedestrian, transit and parking occupancy counts and detailed visual surveys of almost 2,000 retail premises, conducted by CCD staff, the report provides a close-up look at business conditions, supplemented with information from the commercial office sector, employment trends, housing market data and ecommerce trends.
Center City continued its steady process of recovery in June and during the first three weeks of July with pedestrian volumes in July reaching 92% of 2019 levels. During the month of June, the combined number of residents, workers and visitors were up 2% from the previous month.
To extend the holiday shopping and entertainment into the New Year, Center City District (CCD) is sponsoring Restaurant Week, beginning Sunday, January 9 and continuing through Friday, January 21, 2022. Dozens of local restaurants will participate in this biannual prix-fixe dining promotion that highlights some of the city’s most diverse culinary venues.
Philadelphia’s dense, compact downtown and relatively flat topography are excellent for bicycle commuting. A survey and report by CCD shows the cycling numbers have reached a plateau.
This summer, Dilworth Park will once again host small outdoor concerts on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons featuring a full lineup of local artists. All Live @ Lunch presented by PNC performances will take place from noon-1 p.m., from June 2 through July 29.