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This edition of the CCD and CPDC quarterly newsletter details everything we are doing to speed up Philadelphia’s slow but steady recovery. The cover essay seeks to answer the question: If crowds are comfortably returning to sports arenas, theaters and concert halls, bars and restaurants, what’s the problem with offices, where social distancing and masking in common areas is much easier to achieve?
Many of the most iconic buildings and landmarks in Philadelphia will shine blue next Tuesday in honor of World Health Day and the heroic health care workers and first responders battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
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.
Center City District (CCD) has retained a group of local artists to create a major display of new banners, currently being installed across Center City, to coincide with the partial reopening of businesses and the gradual return of workers and visitors to the downtown.
For two decades, the fastest growing residential section of Philadelphia has been Greater Center City. In 2022, the downtown rebound was built on decades of success: At just 5.8% of the city’s land area, Greater Center City accounted for 48% of the city’s total supply of new housing units.
This groundbreaking study by the CCD examines over 2.5 miles of Philadelphia's alley network with the goal of transforming these underutilized spaces into valuable public assets. This comprehensive survey of 45 Center City alleys, reveals significant challenges but also significant, achievable potential to evolve into safer, cleaner, and more active urban spaces.