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The Philadelphia City Council will vote this week to create a business improvement district along North Broad Street. The law would cover a multi-year move — though not everyone in the distribution is in favor.
The central corridor north of City Hall is home to many landmarks, historic organizations and restorative businesses. They create a strong community that sees decades of disinvestment and recent consumerism.
Efforts in recent years to coordinate stronger city services, encourage tourist foot traffic and support small businesses along the way have led to North Broad Renaissance, an economic development nonprofit founded eight years ago. In the year In 2019, the organization was pushing to create a business improvement district, and passed most of the legislative process to create one before COVID forced a change in plans.
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“We were at the point where we had a hearing scheduled for March 18, 2020,” Renaissance executive director Shalimar Thomas told Billy Penn.
After nearly three years, the North Broad BID is finally closer to reality.
Robert “DL” Femmin, founder of Hidden Concepts, which operates several locations in Divine Lorraine, believes more coordination on North Broad is the corridor’s missing link to the fast-growing parts of Philadelphia north of City Hall.
“When you think back to what happened, North Broad is now a keystone in the city,” he said. “Downtown is obvious, but when you think about Spring Garden, Fairmont, Beertown, Northern Liberties, Fishtown? What is the last part of the pipe? It is a wide street,” he said.
Business improvement districts exist throughout Philly. They can stimulate business activity, as seen in Center City, East Passyunk and Northern Liberties, and other areas. Efforts to create them are not always successful; An attempt to create an Italian market tender last decade failed miserably.
During the auction, property owners pay a fee based on a percentage of the district’s total value of their property. It is intended to fund services such as road maintenance, green plantings, security cameras, more coordinated police coverage and economic development initiatives, including cross-corridor cooperation.
When the proposal for the North Broad bid passed the House Rules Committee last week, that marked the beginning of a 45-day objection period. If 51% of property owners disapprove by mid-November, the effort is dead in the water regardless of what the council does.
Thomas doesn’t believe this will happen after so many years of service.
Business owners hope for strength in numbers
At the public hearing, North Broad business owners were generally supportive of the measure and excited about the changes it could bring.
Harry Hyman, a mainstay in the Philly restaurant scene who worked with jazz and soul food specialists Robert and Ben Baim for decades, cites his past experiences.
“We’ve been part of a lot of neighborhood circuits over the years,” he told Billy Penn. “With Zanzibar Blue, when Center City SIPS started, we were part of the downtown district way back.”
The biggest advantage for Hyman is strength in numbers.
“Anytime an individual says, ‘Hey, look at me,’ they have one voice. But any time more people say, ‘Hey, look,’ they’re more likely to succeed.
Seth, from underground concepts, spoke candidly about her fear of gentrification and lack of community input. For him, the only way to calm those concerns is to really listen and start by getting some “big wins.”
“We have to make those neighborhoods the highest priority, even if they feel like they are. [issues] “It’s not going to be as high as some of the big businesses or people with money,” he said.
Small businesses had input into the process through the North Broad Business Roundtable, Femin said. He mentioned the importance of “cathartic expression” in meetings and the ability to move from individual strategic activities to the broader strategic goals of the district.
“Everybody has been affected in the last two and a half years, and I mean beyond the pandemic,” Femin said. “There have been a lot of bills for women, for people of color, for people of different backgrounds.
Has this been tried before?
In the year In 2012, Council President Darrell Clark, whose district includes most of North Broad Street, pushed for the creation of a neighborhood improvement district there. That’s a little different than an auction, but it’s possible under the same state law.
The process caused a lot of pushback, and the circuit did not happen.
A Clark spokesperson at the time explained why the NID was being sought to combat the impact of increased student housing in the area, and that Clark and Temple area landlords took inspiration from the University City District of West Philly.
The residents protested that they did not have enough resources in the process or the means to implement their objections. Ultimately, there wasn’t enough support from local landlords for Clark’s NID to pass.
This time, 32nd Democratic Ward Chairwoman and real estate broker Judith Robinson was the only person to raise concerns about the lack of participation at a recent public hearing.
Robinson told Billy Penn that a BID program with broader coordination could benefit communities bordering North Broad by expanding “feeder streets.”
She said that there was no attempt to contact the local civic associations. “They seem to think so ever since. [on] Broad Street, they really don’t have to deal with us,” Robinson said. “I will talk to them because I know how important it is.”
Thomas, of North Broad Renaissance, said that while the focus is on businesses and property owners, her doors are open. “If the civic associations want to talk and see how this affects them, I’m open to that,” she said.
Who can lead it?
The Community and Economic Reform Act, which allows for the creation of bids, should create a Neighborhood Improvement District Management Association to collect property assessments and administer the programs.
Unsurprisingly, the North Broad renaissance for the North Broad BID will be NIDMA, which Director Thomas describes as “expansion” with a deep focus on economic growth.
“Now we have to think about how these organizations are going to be structured,” Thomas said.
The bid is governed by Renaissance’s bylaws, which call for a board made up of property owners, business owners and “institutions” within the district’s boundaries.
Currently, the organization’s board of directors includes power players from large businesses, developers and government organizations, as well as some small business owners, neighborhood activists and community organizers:
- Dr. Kenneth Scott (Chairman) – President of Beach Interplex, the area’s long-standing economic development and financial aid organization.
- Steven Scott Bradley (Author) – CEO of Bradley & Bradley Associates, an insurance and risk management firm
- Randolph K. Brooks (Treasurer) – Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at Wells Fargo
- Lowell Thomas (General Council) – Philadelphia Housing Authority
- Eric Blumenfeld – Principal of EB Realty Management Corporation, developer of Met Philly and Divine Lorraine.
- Mark Harris – Managing Partner of the Philly Office of Linnebarger Gaughan Blair & Sampson, a national law firm
- Anthony Johnson – Director of Operations at Progress Investment Associates, an economic development organization
- Stephen P. Mullin – President of Econsult Solutions, a business and public policy consulting firm
- Brian Murray – CEO and Founder of Shift Capital, an impact-driven real estate investment firm
- Megan R. Smith – Founder of boutique public relations firm Brownstone PR
The district runs along both sides of North Broad, stretching from Spring Garden Avenue on the north to Indiana Avenue on the south. At the address, 510 N. Broad St. It begins and is located at 2929 North Broad St.
Bid Workers 1300 Fairmount Ave. (including the new Broadridge apartment tower, where Aldi is located), they prefer locations with named properties off Broad Street. 1406 and 1408 Ridge Avenue (a series of small storefronts at Fairmont Crossing) and 1361-3 W. Seltzer St.
If the council votes to approve the bid on Thursday, that doesn’t mean it will start immediately. The North Broad Renaissance proposal suggests a January 1, 2024 start.
“We’ve talked to some property owners, some business owners, saying, ‘Shalimar, we really want to see this, but if we push it a year, that would be great,'” Thomas said. That cushion “gives us more time to continue our outreach and our meetings, making sure we’re keeping owners and businesses educated and informed.”
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