Mayor Parker outlines $2B plan to overhaul housing in Philadelphia
Mayor Cherelle Parker is setting the stage to reshape Philadelphia's housing landscape under her watch.
Why it matters: Philly's dearth of affordable housing is at crisis levels as home prices have spiked and interest rates have ticked up post-pandemic.
Driving the news: Parker unveiled a sweeping $2 billion plan Monday that calls for launching housing programs and expanding popular ones; offering tax breaks to spur development; and more quickly converting city-owned properties into housing.
The mayor's Housing Opportunities Made Easy initiative aims to build 13,500 homes and preserve 16,500 existing structures.
What she's saying: Though the exact timeline is unclear, Philadelphia "should be able to do big things in a short period of time," Parker said during her more than hourlong address.
She said that voters had handed her a mandate to make housing a priority.
How it works: Parker said the the initiative would be funded by borrowing $800 million in bonds, with another $200 million coming from local, state and federal funding.
An additional $1 billion would be kicked in from the city's existing land and property assets.
To help pay for the proposal, Parker has called for hiking the city's realty transfer tax to 3.578% from 3.278%.
The big picture: It's all part of Parker's new budget proposal, which seeks to boost spending despite uncertainties about federal funding and recession fears.
It still needs City Council approval.
The intrigue: District legislators could ultimately sink Parker's plan.
Those 10 elected officials hold significant sway over land deals and projects in their districts via an unwritten rule known as " councilmanic prerogative."
Yes, but: Parker proposed a new framework to sidestep the current need for City Council to pass legislation for all land transfers.
She wants to work with legislators to expedite the sale and transfer of certain city-owned properties to preapproved developers for the construction of affordable housing.
The new framework would apply to "smaller parcels of land," she said, like single-family homes and triplexes.
Zoom in: The mayor's other housing proposals include:
Establishing a city-approved list of qualified contractors, home centers and retail stores to help residents avoid scammers.
Offering tax breaks for projects in certain neighborhoods.
Converting the city's former police headquarters, known as the Roundhouse, and the defunct Holmesburg Prison site into housing.
Reworking burdensome zoning codes that slow down developments.
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11 hours ago
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City moves forward with second plan for Central Park makeover; businesses, officials still split
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Representatives from The Sweet Spot and Roots Kitchen + Juicery, two restaurants located near Central Park, made a video of themselves chained to a tree and questioning why money was being spent on changing the park in a city with a high poverty rate and other needs. They also noted that the time the park is closed for construction with no events taking place will affect their businesses. 'A lot of this is obviously in the eye of the beholder,' Johnstown City Manager Art Martynuska said. 'It's interesting. It's one of those darned-if-you-do, darned-if-you-don't kind of things. 'There are still folks out there that don't want anything done, still folks out there that wanted the Scape concept, and other folks who are in agreement with the plans that we put forth. Hopefully the compromise will lie somewhere in the middle of all three of those.' Construction is expected to begin around Labor Day. 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No Christmas display will be in the park this year due to the pending construction that will get underway after the work is put out to bid and contracts are awarded. 'This year's going to be tough,' Radovanic said. Messina added: 'It's going to be brutal. It will be hard. I'm going to lose Christmas (this year). We all are here. It's a shame, but it can't be helped. It can't be helped.' Radovanic said the partnership is 'pursuing all of our options' in an effort to find a temporary home for the Christmas display in 2025. All of the Central Park work is expected to be completed in time for the 2026 Christmas season. NEW CENTRAL PARK WITH CHRISTMAS 'Change in the plan' The projected total cost is between $6 million and $8 million. Johnstown City Council decided to put that money toward the park from the $30.7 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding it received for COVID-19 pandemic relief. Martynuska said he expects a savings of between $800,000 and $1.2 million from the original design to the new one approved by council, mostly by removing proposed rock features that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even with the changes, Martynuska said the goal remains the same – to have the remaking of Central Park, combined with other projects, such as a Main Street streetscape, create a 'rejuvenation of downtown.' 'Hopefully, in the end, everybody will benefit,' Britt said. Britt addressed the concerns expressed by some residents and business owners, saying, 'I think that quite naturally nobody likes change. People become accustomed to seeing things certain ways. In my opinion, when you're doing something over or building something new, there's always a change in the plan somewhere. … You're going to have different opinions about different things, but hopefully it turns out that everyone will enjoy it.' Central Park | Downtown Johnstown Downtown visitors sit to talk near the Union Veterans of the Civil War statue at Central Park in Johnstown on Thursday, June 12, 2025. All ARPA money needed to be allocated by Dec. 31, 2024; therefore, any funds set aside for the Central Park work must now be spent on that project. ARPA dollars need to be spent by Sept. 30, 2026, a date that was recently moved up from Dec. 31, 2026. DeBartola suggested the city should just return the money set aside for the park to the federal government. Clark considered the idea, too. 'That would just hurt the city so much,' Clark said. 'It would be very difficult to get funding moving forward because we would have proven that we can't even get a project done once we get the money for it. At the point that we're at now, even though I believe from the get-go there was too much money to spend on Central Park and all that, we're past that point. 'We've got to move forward with the project that we have, get something good done for the people even if I disagree with some aspects of it, and move this project forward.' Clark also emphasized that the project needs to remain within budget, regardless of what unexpected situations might be encountered when construction is taking place, 'because the council will not allocate any more money for the park. This is it.' 'Changes in leadership' Scape displayed the general proposed design for the park in August 2023. Since then, City Manager Ethan Imhoff resigned, then Melissa Komar and Robert Statler served as co-interim city managers, before Martynuska took on the position full-time. There have also been three Department of Community and Economic Development directors over the same period. That coincided with what publicly appeared to be a period of inactivity on the project. 'Those changes in leadership just created disruptions,' Huchel said. Messina said he has been 'disturbed' at the pace of the remodel and how the process has been handled. 'It's been a long process,' he said. 'I was on the original Main Street project team (appointed by City Council). We had a big meeting. There was like 25, 30 of us there. We were all excited about it. That was years ago. And nothing happened. We heard nothing for a couple of years. I was very disappointed. Essentially, that was disbanded.' Thaddeus Pawlowski, an urban designer who is originally from the Johnstown region, helped Scape in the early part of the process by soliciting local involvement and keeping the public aware of what was occurring. 'I probably should have been like, 'You know what, I should just stay involved the whole time,' ' Pawlowski said. 'That's on me. I have other things to do with my life, but obviously I care deeply about this project being successful.' Pawlowski added: 'I think, in retrospect, there were some lessons learned. One is you gotta just keep the public engaged the whole time through this.' Overall, Pawlowski thinks the redesigned park will be 'hugely impactful' and provide a 'positive long-term economic benefit.' PHOTO GALLERY | Central Park | Downtown Johnstown 'Differences of opinion' Scape, which was paid $1.6 million for its work, has left the Central Park and Main Street projects. 'A lot of the conversations had stopped because of change in leadership (in the city), change in personnel,' Martynuska said. 'We reinvigorated that conversation with Scape, started the process, obviously not anew, but reignited, if you will. … None of those conversations were contentious. There were definitely differences of opinion, professional differences of opinion.' Scape founding principal Kate Orff said the turnover in City Hall leadership affected the project and that 'the plan changes were so dramatic as to kind of change the community's vision. Again, it's not our vision. We were like channeling the community's vision.' Orff said the 'better plan was to just separate and let this new process – because it is a new process – play out.' Regarding how the process went, Orff said, 'Scape has delivered signature, beloved public parks for cities around the United States, and we really tried to do that for Johnstown. 'Right now, our park, Tom Lee Park (in Memphis, Tennessee), is on the cover of Landscape Architecture Magazine. We just also won an ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) award for a park in San Francisco. 'We wish that the park in Johnstown had a different result and that we could see the community's vision through toward implementation. 'However, this is not the direction that the city wants to go in and we wish everyone the best. Many generations to come will be modifying and changing this park to suit their needs, and that is the beauty of parks and public space.' CJL Engineering, a local company that was originally a subcontractor, has taken over completion of the plan, working with UpStreet Architects. CJL did not respond to an interview request. UpStreet deferred to city officials for comment. Huchel, who is involved with two organizations that border the park – Gallery on Gazebo and Alma Hall – still emphatically supports the original plan. 'I'm really disheartened that people are no longer talking about the Scape design,' Huchel said. 'They're only talking about superimposing that design CJL and UpStreet did over Scape's design. I think it's really disheartening that Scape has had to distance themselves from this project. 'I've said numerous times that we paid $1.6 million for a plan and many of those dollars came back locally to CJL, who was always a subcontractor. But we paid $1.6 million for this plan and now we're using it as toilet paper. I think that's a really irresponsible way for us to use our federal grant dollars.' She said it was 'atrocious' and an 'incredible overreach' to override a 'robust community engagement process and a team of professionals who do award-winning parks all over the U.S.' City officials have recently stepped up messaging about the park, including discussing it during the annual State of the City Address, council meetings, personal interactions with nonprofits and governmental agencies, and a gathering in the park last Saturday.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Johnstown mayoral candidates King, DeBartola bring opposing views to Central Park effort
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Whether to spend millions of dollars remodeling and modernizing Johnstown's Central Park is a question that exemplifies the city's differing political opinions, including for candidates in this year's mayoral race. Deputy Mayor the Rev. Sylvia King, the Democratic nominee, is part of the establishment that has promoted the project that will include installing new sidewalks, a pavilion for entertainment, monuments walkway, greenery and infrastructure upgrades. King recently voted in favor of a motion approving a final plan for the park that passed Johnstown City Council by a 6-1 vote. Republican Party mayoral candidate John DeBartola, who considers himself a political outsider, has used his platform on Revitalize Johnstown and in public forums to oppose the plan. The project, which is expected to cost between $6 million and $8 million, is being funded by American Rescue Plan Act money for COVID-19 pandemic relief. City Council approved putting the funds toward the park project from among the $30.7 million it received in ARPA money that it was awarded in 2021. 'The vast majority of the public opposes spending $8 million to completely redesign Central Park,' DeBartola said. 'The city could have used that money to remove blight in neighborhoods, build a new police station, or support a grocery store downtown. … It's a shame city leaders prioritized Central Park over the police, fire department or our neighborhoods.' DeBartola added: 'All the public wants is honest and fair leadership. The way the city has handled the Central Park project shows they have neither.' King pointed out that the city used ARPA funds in numerous ways, including programs for home repairs, home purchases, sewer assistance, stormwater upgrades, community neighborhood development, nonprofit assistance, food insecurity and the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center. The money is also linked to the $8 million in the U.S. Department of Transportation's Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development grant (formerly Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) for a streetscape in the Main Street corridor. 'The ARPA funds were used as leverage to complement the RAISE grant,' King said. 'Because they are leveraged funds, they are tied to specific projects which were outlined in the RAISE grant application – and therefore cannot be reallocated for other uses. The use of ARPA funds to invest in infrastructure projects supports the revitalization of downtown.' King said the proposed changes will, in her opinion, make Central Park 'more interactive' for visitors and easier for people using mobility aids to navigate, while helping boost the economy. 'Being able to invest in the infrastructure of the city is paramount,' King said. 'The changes being made will stimulate and motivate our local economy. Hopefully it will spark more entrepreneurship initiatives. There will be inconveniences along the way. We ask for your patience during these upgrades.' The RAISE (now BUILD) grant was awarded in 2021. 'After 4 years, the RAISE grant seems to be inching along,' DeBartola wrote in an email. 'The problem is that in those 4 years, the cost of building materials has skyrocketed. The inability to execute the grant has caused us to lose millions due to inflation.'
