The University is planning to partner with community groups to revitalize the Parkside area of West Philadelphia, but some involved with the project are skeptical of whether such efforts will produce tangible results.
Through the partnership, the University aims to open a medical facility, contribute to the formation of a new charter school and fill vacant lots in the region with homes for Penn employees, said Robert Cousar, executive director of the East Parkside Residents Association, which seeks to revitalize the area.
Though there are no contracts for work in place, officials from Penn's Office of Government and Community Relations are talking with community leaders about the potential projects.
The Parkside neighborhood, which borders the southern edge of Fairmont Park, is one of the poorest areas in the city, Cousar said.
Penn Assistant Vice President of Community Relations Glenn Bryan, who has met with community leaders to discuss plans, said Parkside is a "very vital neighborhood because it is the gateway to West Philadelphia."
Cousar added that the planned revitalization will benefit the University as much as the community.
But even though both sides stand to gain, partnerships like these are not always successful, says James Brown, executive director of the Parkside Historic Preservation Corp.
He said the University has been too sweeping in its past attempts to revitalize communities throughout the city, adding that plans for change mean nothing if they are not properly executed.
Cousar, however, said that his group is still anxious to work with Penn to change the neighborhood.
He added that he is interested in opening a medical building in Parkside that would incorporate resources from Penn's hospitals or graduate schools. This addition could also potentially attract much-needed drug stores to the area.
Parkside is also looking to open a charter school with the help of Penn's Graduate School of Education, Cousar said, adding that Penn could assist in "establishing a curriculum -- and seeing it through -- that targets inner city children."
East Parkside currently has around 600 vacant lots and buildings that University administrators are potentially looking to fill with Penn employees, Cousar said.
Bryan said the University is also interested in training community members for job opportunities at the Penn or helping them get construction apprenticeships.
Brown said that, in order for these goals to be met, leaders need to examine the "needs of the University and the needs of the community and ask, 'Do they match each other?'"
He added that he hasn't seen many similar partnerships aimed at West Philadelphia community development that were successful during his 45 years of experience.
Bryan said that other local colleges like Drexel University and the University of the Sciences are also part of the efforts, as are community organizations such as the West Philadelphia Partnership.
Meanwhile, the area has made some headway without outside help. A "please touch" museum is set to come to the neighborhood in 2008, plans for multi-level parking facilities are under way and the neighborhood's Mann Center for Performing Arts, located at 5201 Parkside Ave., is planning an expansion, Cousar said.
