From ghost town to bustling downtown

By Paul R. Levy

Before the Center City District started up 20 years ago today, the downtown area was perceived as dirty and dangerous. While major crimes were not very common, a sense of disorder undermined the confidence of property owners, would-be investors, workers, visitors, and residents.

Whirlwinds of litter blew around, broken glass glittered in gutters, and graffiti marred buildings and benches. Thirty-foot-high "cobra head" streetlights created pools of light separated by long stretches of darkness.

Security gates were rolled down by 5:30 p.m. There were no outdoor cafés, only one condominium complex (Academy House), and few baby strollers. The Civic Center in University City hosted only occasional trade shows and small conventions, and the zoo was the city's top visitor destination. The orchestra was struggling to raise funds for a new home.

The city was in the midst of recession and fiscal crisis. There really had been a 1970s ad campaign with the slogan "Philadelphia is not as bad as Philadelphians say it is." We were not only economically depressed; we were clinically depressed.

Center City today is a different downtown, transformed by two decades of investment that has diversified its economic base, employment opportunities, residential options, and cultural and leisure offerings. Working with four mayors and four governors, a committed private sector has made Center City cleaner, safer, and more attractive.

As our forthcoming "State of Center City" report shows, serious crimes have been reduced by half over the last 20 years, car burglaries by three-quarters. New landscaping, pedestrian-scale lighting, and signs create a welcoming environment day and night. We can enjoy 213 outdoor cafés and 328 percent more fine dining establishments (and have the waistlines to prove it). There's been a 95 percent increase in hotel rooms, and the state-of-the-art, downtown convention center has just doubled in size.

The modest goal of the district's 1992 "Make it a Night" campaign was to get retailers to stay open until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. Today, arts, entertainment, hotels, restaurants, and new housing keep the sidewalks animated well into the evening hours, seven days a week.

True, much remains to be done. We need to address panhandling and homelessness, bring the transit system into the 21st century, and make the city's tax environment more competitive. And there are lingering gaps in Center City's vibrancy on East Chestnut and East Market Streets, and between downtown and University City.

But even amid the recent global recession, compact, walkable Center City has attracted more residents, students, and visitors. Education and health-care institutions added jobs through the recession and attracted millions of dollars in grants.

Center City's population has increased 26 percent over the last two decades, to 93,000 residents, 63 percent of whom walk, bike, or take mass transit to work. The number of college-educated residents has jumped 27 percent in 20 years, while more than 17,000 children have been born to Center City families in the last 10 years.

When the Center City District was first proposed, there was not only skepticism among property owners about paying for it, but also concern that regular municipal services might be reduced. But the district's strong partnerships with police and other agencies have actually increased their responsiveness.

Some also worried that the district might sweep litter and crime into adjacent communities. But through contracts with neighboring community organizations, and with SEPTA and the city for underground rail stations and concourses, the clean and safe zone has extended beyond our boundaries. Organizations like ours have brought improvements to Old City, South Street, University City, and 11 other districts.

Since 1997, district assessments have funded $23.7 million in capital improvements, matched by more than $32 million in foundation, state, and federal funding. Over the next two years, the district will leverage an additional $40 million to improve Dilworth Plaza.

Restaurant Week has steadily increased the number of regional residents who come downtown, as have promotions by associations that did not exist two decades ago - Rittenhouse Row, the Midtown Village Merchants Association, the Reading Terminal Market Corp. The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Select Greater Philadelphia market the area widely.

After 20 years, Center City is a different place because we heeded architect Charles Moore's simple injunction of a half-century ago: You have to pay for the public life!