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In 2018, 2,810 new housing units were completed in Greater Center City – the largest number since Center City District began tracking the market almost 20 years ago. Strong growth is continuing at the beginning of 2019 with 3,017 more housing units under construction in Greater Center City.
Center City Philadelphia holds 43% of all jobs citywide with a workforce from every neighborhood in the city, with more than 100,000 being employed in the office district. This spring and summer, Center City District (CCD) will celebrate and support Center City in-office employees by hosting free, outdoor events on West Market and JFK Boulevard.
For the last two decades, Greater Center City has been the fastest growing residential section of both Philadelphia and the entire region. After a temporary dip in population, the number of downtown residents on sidewalks in Center City had rebounded to 2019 levels by the end of 2021. Rents and home sale prices held up and the number of newly-permitted residential units in both Center City and citywide reached the highest point in decades in 2021.
Examining housing development in Greater Center City, the balance between supply and demand, and potential impediments to Philadelphia’s revival.
The return to shopping and dining will be slow and gradual, influenced by how well and consistently businesses address public concerns about public health and safety, as well as the City of Philadelphia’s flexibility in encouraging the expanded use of public space to accommodate seating and waiting lines, according to results of a new CCD survey of Philadelphia residents.
Building Out From The Core examines housing development in Greater Center City and in immediately adjacent neighborhoods; documents the impact of employment growth and demographic trends on recent development; and looks at affordability issues in a comparative context.
Citywide employment has fully rebounded from the spring 2020 shutdown with 2.4% more jobs in October 2023 than in February 2020. But there is a difference between the return of workers to payrolls and the return of full vitality to Center City. The report suggests ways to accelerate the job growth and business formation rates in Philadelphia.
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.
Center City District (CCD) is ushering in the arrival of spring with continuous outdoor entertainment in Dilworth Park and Sister Cities Park. Beginning this March through the end of May, activities for families, fitness classes and a roller rink help to kick-start the parks’ seasonal transformation.