New report highlights
barriers and recommendations to promote reuse
PHILADELPHIA –Reusing and adapting many of the city’s
older, smaller buildings can help the city extend the benefits of
revitalization beyond Center City, according to a study released today by the
Partnership for Building Reuse and led locally by the ULI Philadelphia District
Council. More than 200 real estate professionals joined keynote speakers Jim
Lindberg and Mike Powe, of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s
Preservation Green Lab, along with a panel of local experts, to learn more
about the report’s priority recommendations, needed partners, resources, and
next steps at a forum hosted by ULI Philadelphia this morning.
A joint effort between the National Trust for Historic
Preservation and the Urban Land Institute, the Partnership for Building Reuse
is designed to foster market-driven reuse of vacant and underused buildings in
cities across the country. Philadelphia is one of five cities participating in
this initiative.
The report, “Retrofitting Philadelphia: The
Partnership for Building Reuse,” recommends strategies for how
to increase investment and revitalization across the city while acknowledging
the city’s well documented barriers to reuse, including high construction and
labor costs, weak market conditions, low rents, and difficulty in acquiring
long abandoned structures. The report also identifies areas of opportunity that
are poised for near term success. Nearly 50 local real estate developers,
architects, contractors, historic preservation advocates, community development
practitioners, green building leaders, planners, building code officials, and
others were engaged by the Partnership of Building Reuse for the study over the
past year.
“Philadelphia has a rich history of successfully
converting older properties into assets that attract young people and drive
growth,” said Jim Lindberg, Planning Director at the National Trust’s
Preservation Green Lab. “With the population continuing to grow downtown,
Philadelphia is poised to become an innovative national leader in sustainable
development and building reuse.”
Reusing older, smaller buildings in Philadelphia is
proven to contribute in key ways to the vitality of the city. For example:
The creative economy thrives in older neighborhoods.
There is an average of 4.6 jobs in creative industries in areas of the city
characterized by older, smaller, mixed-vintage blocks, compared to an average
of 2.9 jobs in areas with mostly larger, newer buildings.
Young people love old buildings. The average
median age of residents in areas of the city characterized by older, smaller
buildings is 35.6 years, compared to 41.2 years in areas with dominated by
larger, newer buildings.
Good restaurants fit well in older buildings.
Nearly 64 percent of Philadelphia Magazine’s 2013 “Top 50 Restaurants” and “Top
50 Bars” are located in buildings constructed before 1920, well above the
citywide total of 50 percent of commercial businesses located in buildings of
that vintage.
“We know that vacant and underused buildings can be
transformed into vibrant and productive workplaces, world-class hotels and
restaurants, residences, civic spaces, and other positive economic drivers,”
said Chris Hager, Chair of ULI Philadelphia. “In partnership with the
Preservation Alliance and other organizations and community leaders, ULI
Philadelphia will facilitate the implementation of this report to promote
building reuse and create a thriving Philadelphia, responsibly.”
The report offers several strategies and recommendations
to promote building reuse in Philadelphia. These include adding building reuse
to the Philadelphia political agenda for the 2015 municipal elections;
extending and marketing the benefits of building reuse and community
developments to more areas of the city; and expanding historic preservation
tools and incentives for building reuse.
Urban Land Institute Philadelphia
The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and
research institute whose mission is to provide responsible leadership in the
use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities
worldwide. Established in 1936, ULI today has more than 32,000 members
around the globe, representing the entire spectrum of land use and development
disciplines. Our members include developers, builders, property owners,
investors, architects, public officials, planners, brokers, appraisers,
attorneys, engineers, financiers, academics, students and librarians.
The Philadelphia District Council encompasses about 850
members throughout Eastern and Central Pennsylvania, the southern half of New
Jersey and the State of Delaware. It is one of the most robust District
Councils in the country, experiencing strong growth and introducing new
initiatives. For more information please visit www.uliphiladelphia.org.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a
privately-funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic
places. Learn moreat www.PreservationNation.org and connect with
us on Facebook and Twitter.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, through its
Preservation Green Lab, strengthens the fabric of communities by leveraging the
value of existing buildings to reduce resource waste, create jobs and bolster a
strong sense of community. The Preservation Green Lab integrates sustainability
with historic preservation by developing research, demonstration projects and
policies that decrease demolition and promote building reuse. Guided by a
belief that historic preservation is essential to sustainable development, the
Preservation Green Lab works with partners to create new pathways to shared
prosperity and bring people together around a common vision for their
neighborhoods, towns and cities. www.preservationnation.org/greenlab
Source: ULI Philadelphia
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