Blight plan short on specifics

Mayor John Street got closer to proposing a solution for the blight that has spread through Philadelphia neighborhoods on Wednesday. But his plan lacks the specifics which will transform the vision into reality, according to some West Philadelphia residents. The mayor's proposed five-year, $1.6 billion program, called the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, is intended to turn the decimated residential and commercial real estate markets of many neighborhoods into vibrant centers. Street plans to fund the redevelopment by issuing $250 million in bonds, though City Council has not yet approved the plan. Though the mayor has provided his broad vision, he has yet to provide the specifics of what will happen in which neighborhoods. "Fundamentally, what we need is a lot more in the way of details," said Mike Hardy, head of the University City Historical Society historic streetscapes committee. The mayor's plan calls for the preservation and restoration of neighborhoods throughout the city by the construction of 1,600 new houses, the demolition of 1,400 vacant structures and the creation of a land bank to simplify the process of purchasing land for development. At its core, the proposal aims to yield a 5 percent population growth over the next ten years, rectifying the city's 4.6 percent population decline over the past decade. To better accommodate the needs of each specific region, Philadelphia neighborhoods were designated as one of six real estate market clusters, several of which are found in West Philadelphia. "You have just about every type of housing market in your area," said Cynthia Bayete, assistant director for the mayor's office for neighborhood transformation. University City will mostly be experiencing enhancement services and some demolition. Dead trees will be removed and street lighting improved in the blocks surrounding Penn. While most of this area is designated "transitional," from 37th to 41st streets and from Market Street to Woodland Avenue is deemed "regional choice" -- the designation given to the most affluent parts of Philadelphia and the one resulting in the least changes. "They were wrong in that," University City District Executive Director Paul Steinke said. "They designated student housing the same as Society Hill and that was a mistake." While no homeowners reside in this area, student rental income increases property values, making the area seem more stable than it actually is. "I think this plan was inspired more by parts of the city that have a greater degree of blight than University City does," Steinke said. University City as a whole is not in need of massive demolition, as only about one property per block is abandoned. These properties, according to Hardy, need help to get back into the marketplace. He proposed forgiving the back taxes and back utility bills that stack up, preventing the properties from being sold. Hardy commended the mayor for involving community members in his blight plan but emphasized that residents need more information in order to further empower themselves. "We need to know more. We need more details," Hardy said. "Otherwise, we just know that we're going to tear down a lot of houses." "We knew that four months ago," he added. University City does not face many abandonment problems, but rather property maintenance issues. One way in which to do this is to enforce municipal codes, according to Spruce Hill Community Association Board member and area resident Eli Massar. "If the mayor's plan focuses on the delivery of city services... than I think the effect will be an improvement of the quality of life in our neighborhood and the improvement of our houses," Massar said. Massar called the plan "quite comprehensive and quite interesting," and said translating the theory into reality is the challenge that lies ahead. University Director of Community Relations Glen Bryan said he sees the plan as an opportunity for Penn to work with area residents. "Finally, the city's really looking at developing neighborhoods," Bryan said. "[The University is] very much in favor of the mayor's plan."