Pew Charities
- Next City wonders “what happens to a community when its greatest public asset” (the neighborhood public school building) “transforms overnight into one of its worst physical liabilities?” It’s a pervasive urban dilemma across America actually, yet Philadelphia is nonetheless noteworthy for its total of 40 shuttered buildings from 2005 to the end of this school year. Still, a Pew study released in February offers some tips (obvious though they seem): sell the properties quickly, preferably with a hired broker who will provide detailed information to any perspective buyers.
- At a capital-budget presentation at SEPTA’s Center City headquarters yesterday, the transit agency decried this year’s paltry offerings from Harrisburg: a mere $308 million; that’s a 25% decrease since 2010. “The shortage of money ‘will severely hamper SEPTA’s ability to bring our system to a state of good repair’ and will leave many projects unfunded for the foreseeable future,” said SEPTA’s director of capital budgets, Catherine Popp-McDonough.
- NewsWorks previews this Saturday’s street fair, the culmination to this year’s Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), which will see the Avenue of the Arts closed to traffic and open to an expected 200,000 visitors who will explore this year’s theme of time travel. “There’s going to be a lot of ways to interact physically with the space,” said festival director Jay Wahl. “You get to sit in the grass, you get to ride a Ferris wheel, you get to swoosh through the air on a boat.”
- Interior renovations have begun within the Sedgley Apartments, an imposing example of Romanesque Revival architecture at 45th & Pine, says Naked Philly.
About the author
Stephen Currall recently received his BA in history from Arcadia University. Before beginning doctoral studies, he is pursuing his interest in local history, specifically just how Philadelphians engage their vibrant past. Besides skimming through 18th century letters, Steve is also interested in music and travel.
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