Mayor Kenney's bold initiative to revitalize the city's
parks, libraries, and recreation centers as a way to fight poverty and
strengthen neighborhoods is receiving a major lift - up to $100 million from
the William Penn Foundation.
The grant is the largest in the foundation's history,
nearly four times bigger than any it has given before. In a single swoop, it
covers one-fifth of the overall cost of the program, known as Rebuild.
"We want to provide opportunity for all Philadelphia
citizens, from the youngest children all the way to the most senior citizens,
to come together, to get to know one another," said Janet Haas, chair of
the foundation's board of directors. "Particularly in these times in our
country, it's even more important."
The gift, which will be formally announced at a news
conference Monday, is a significant vote of confidence from the city's largest
philanthropy at a critical time in the launch of Rebuild. City officials are
deep in planning the project and are expected to seek City Council approval of
the first of three $100 million bonds early next year.
The program will mean improvements ranging from
face-lifts to brand-new facilities at scores of parks, recreation centers, and
libraries - city assets that have fallen into deep disrepair due to budget
constraints.
Some parks haven't seen new equipment or substantial
upkeep of the old for more than 20 years. And neighborhood libraries last
received new paint, lights, and computers two decades ago. Eight branches
remained closed last summer because the air-conditioning did not work.
While at a basic level Rebuild will provide for those
infrastructure improvements, city officials and leaders at William Penn see the
potential for a broader social and economic impact. They point to the jobs the
projects will create, the increased community engagement the process will
foster, and the sorely needed services that will be available at the finished
facilities.
Rebuild is meant to work in tandem with expanded early
childhood education, another Kenney initiative. Officials have said
prekindergarten facilities could be housed in the improved facilities.
"It doesn't just rebuild rec centers," Brian
Abernathy, the city's first deputy managing director, said of the effort.
"It rebuilds communities. It rebuilds neighborhoods. And it rebuilds an
economic base that has been lacking in this city for decades."
The six-year program has a $500 million price tag: $300
million in bonds, $120 million from foundations and private donors, $32 million
in state and federal funds, and $48 million in city capital funds.
The lion's share of the William Penn grant is contingent
on the city taking out bonds for its portion. About $4.8 million has already
been given and is being used in the planning phases. An additional $20.2
million of the total is structured to help draw in more philanthropic and
public funding, with $1 given for every $2 raised.
Shawn McCaney, the foundation's interim executive
director, said the organization would help in the fund-raising. He called
Rebuild an "unprecedented and once-in-a-generation opportunity" and
said it could become a national model for data-driven community reinvestment,
which could spur support from national donors.
Kenney praised the foundation and said Rebuild resonates
with some of its core focuses including sustainability, infrastructure, and
youth.
"They really believe in what we're doing,"
Kenney said. "And that's gratifying. And it's also energizing and it makes
you want to continue to work harder."
William Penn, with about $2 billion in assets, is among
the largest philanthropic organizations in the country. It is the legacy of the
Haas family and was started by Otto Haas, the German-born cofounder of the Rohm
& Haas chemical company, and his wife, Phoebe, in 1945.
For decades the foundation has been behind the remaking
of some of Philadelphia's most significant public spaces - Logan Circle, the
Delaware River Waterfront, the Schuylkill River Trail, and Dilworth Park, to
name a few.
Haas said the foundation in recent years has broadened
its focus outside of Center City. She said Rebuild is a natural extension of
that effort.
Still, she said the decision to give such a sizable
amount was difficult.
"Although we were excited about the potential, it wasn't
an easy sell for the board in that we knew that it was risky and that it was
going to be big," Haas said. "If we were going to take a stake in it
we knew we wanted to take a big one."
She said board members asked "countless
questions" to vet the project and described herself as a skeptic during
the process, wanting to understand how the city would define success and the
likelihood of achieving it. After going through those steps, she said, the size
of the grant can be viewed as a sign of the foundation's deep confidence in the
plan and the people behind it.
In weighing the final figure, Haas said she also
considered other large grants the foundation has given in the past, then
considered the possibility to make a citywide impact with Rebuild.
"I had a sense this would be about right," she
said of the amount. "It's a stretch. You really have to hold your breath
to do this. But it's the right thing to do. . . . It's out of the comfort zone.
But big things always are."
With the big donation, Haas said the foundation is also
anticipating a big impact and plans to remain invested in the process to help
see that happen. She said she has toured many of the facilities Rebuild would
revitalize and seen how they are lacking. A visit to one South Philly rec center
several years ago stands out in her memory.
The facility was locked when her group arrived. After
tracking down the key, Haas said, she was struck with the feeling that the
building wasn't even worth locking.
"There was no point," she said. "It was vandalized
on the outside. There had been a basketball hoop, but there was basically
nothing left. There was a puddle on the floor, and buckets. And it hadn't just
been raining."
Haas said Rebuild could remake those public spaces into
vibrant community hubs. She and McCaney added that the process of doing so is,
in their eyes, almost as important as the end result. City officials have said
community input will be central in developing specific projects, so the new
facilities fit the communities' needs.
"We used to think you use the engagement process to
deliver a physical thing," McCaney said. "Now we think that it's
actually the reverse. That the park is a platform for engagement. That the
process leading to the park is an engagement process. And that, if you . . . do
it right, folks feel like they own that space, they respect it, they steward
it, and that there's ongoing engagement beyond."
Source: Philly.com
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