Homecoming for commerce director

Mayor Nutter will announce today that Andy Altman - a former head of city planning in Washington, D.C., who now runs a private development firm in New York City - will serve as the city's commerce director and deputy mayor for planning and economic development.

"Andy's resume is astounding," Nutter said. "We are quite fortunate to have him here."

Nutter said Altman will be responsible for all city planning and economic development departments, including zoning, Licenses and Inspections, the housing agencies and workforce development.

"This unique structure is utilized in New York and Chicago," Nutter said. He said he hoped that putting all these offices under one director will improve long-term planning efforts and services for citizens.

Altman - who is scheduled to start work Feb. 26 - will be formally sworn in tomorrow afternoon, as will Managing Director Camille Barnett, who delayed her official start date due to the recent death of her husband in a car accident.

A native Philadelphian, Altman said he was thrilled to be coming home. "For a kid who grew up in Germantown, this is a dream come true," he said.

Altman said that before he met Nutter, he was impressed by Philadelphia's new mayor and told his wife that he would like to go work for him. As it happens, right around the time Altman was pondering a move back to Philly, Nutter was trying to find him.

Nutter said former D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams had recommended Altman.

"I tracked him down through Google and sent him an e-mail," Nutter said.

After the two talked, Altman decided the opportunity to guide Philadelphia into the future was too good to pass up.

"The structure of the position itself is exciting," he said. "If you really love cities and want to effect change, there are few opportunities to do that."

Altman didn't talk specifics about what he hoped to do in office, although he said Philadelphia's challenges include growing the economy, improving employment opportunities and reducing poverty. He also said Philadelphia has great potential for waterfront development.

"I think waterfronts are very special assets cities have," he said, noting that waterfront development helped rejuvenate Washington.

Altman's annual salary will be $185,000. Nutter said the amount was higher than the city charter-dictated maximum for commerce director, because Altman is also a deputy mayor. He made similar exceptions for Barnett and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.

Altman worked as a city planning director in Washington from 1999 through 2004, leading a redevelopment of the city's convention center, creating neighborhood plans for each part of the city and approving more than 300 development projects. In Washington, Altman also served as founding president and chief executive of the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, a quasi-government agency charged with reviving the city's waterfronts.

Since leaving Washington in 2005, Altman has run Altman Development LLC, an urban planning company he founded.

Altman graduated from the Philadelphia School District's Parkway Program, earned an undergraduate degree in geography from Temple University and a master's degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He is married with two young sons and plans to move his family to Philadelphia. *