W. Phila. incentive programs a success so far, officials say

There's more than the incentives of beating gridlock and saving on gas money to keep the people who work on Penn's campus here in West Philadelphia at night. Just over a year and a half after the University began offering financial incentives to employees who live in West Philadelphia, there have been encouraging signs of a reverse migration from Center City to University City, officials said. With crime down and University City rapidly becoming more of a hub of activity, Penn's managing director of community housing, D-L Wormley, says that real estate prices are up and people are coming back. Penn's Home Ownership Incentive Program provides University faculty members or staff with either $3,000 a year for seven years or $15,000 upfront if they agree to buy a home in University City and live in the house for at least seven years. And the Home Improvement Loan Program allows those who already own homes in the area to get up to $7,500 in matching funds for exterior home repairs. Wormley said the University has offered housing loans to about 155 people and that 77 others have received money for home repairs. She said the programs have served as a catalyst for homeowners to improve their neighborhoods and is helping to eliminate many of the eyesores that once dotted University City. "It's contagious in a positive sense," she said. Wormley said that the project has been a resounding success in part because administrators add a personal touch to the monetary disbursements. "There's a lot of one-on-one counseling that's taking place because the programs are designed not just to give money," Wormley said. "We pay strict attention and all of us [working with the program] live in the neighborhood.? That's what makes the difference." Participants lauded the program, saying that it catalyzes residents into bettering their neighborhoods and encourages them to take a personal stake in the area where they work. "For me to be a first-time homeowner, me and my husband, it was a godsend," said Cynthia Bradley, an office manager in WXPN's membership department who has lived on-and-off in West Philadelphia since her childhood. The University-funded initiative elaborates on a similar plan that Yale University in New Haven, Conn., established in 1994. "I had been saying for years that the University ought to do something like this," said Associate School of Arts and Sciences Dean Joseph Farrell, a West Philadelphia resident who received money for renovations. "The housing stock in University City is incredibly attractive but it is old and there is no old house that doesn't need some sort of improvement."