November 2023
thebellwetherdistrict.com
The Bellwether District Dispatch
Construction Has Begun at The Bellwether District! On October 16, the Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) team celebrated the start of vertical construction at The Bellwether District. Alongside well over 100 business, civic and community leaders from Philadelphia and across Southeastern Pennsylvania, HRP was joined by U.S. Department of Labor Solicitor Seema Nanda, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, Governor Josh Shapiro, Mayor Jim Kenney, State Senator Anthony H. Williams, Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, Laborers' District Council leader Ryan Boyer, and William Sasso, Chairman Emeritus, Stradley Ronon. This once-in-a-generation transformation of 1300 acres in Southwest Philadelphia is projected to create 19,000 direct permanent jobs and nearly 28,000 direct construction jobs over a 10- to15-year timeline. As Mayor Kenney remarked, “The Bellwether District will act as a driver of stability for one of the most economically vulnerable areas of Philadelphia, transforming an obsolete industrial site into a sustainable clean hydrogen-powered 21stcentury economic engine… HRP’s successful track record of mindful, climate resilient and sustainable redevelopment will contribute greatly to the long-term social, economic and environmental health of our city and our South and Southwest Philadelphia neighborhoods.”
Our Progress to Date: Our work has resulted in a 16% reduction in carbon emissions citywide 99% of deconstruction and demolition is complete 324 tanks have been decommissioned or demolished 23 process units have been decommissioned or demolished
READ MORE Stay up to date on all developments at thebellwetherdistrict.com.
And join us at our next VIRTUAL community meeting on Tuesday, November 14 at 6pm. REGISTER HERE
Page 2
THE BELLWETHER DISTRICT DISPATCH
November 2023
We’re Connecting Communities with Resources On October 5, the Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) team at The Bellwether District teamed up with 11 city organizations and the offices of City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, State Representative Jordan Harris and State Senator Anthony Williams to host a Community Resource Fair for residents of South and Southwest Philadelphia. Neighbors were invited to do guided tours of The Bellwether District, and connect one-on-one with representatives from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Carpenters’ Apprentice Ready Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Everybody Builds, Evergreen, Maternity Care Coalition, PA CareerLink, Philadelphia Airport, Philadelphia Eagles Eye Mobile powered by Vision to Learn, Resident Action Committee II, and Southwest CDC; along with representatives from various HRP departments who spoke about plans for The Bellwether District. Many thanks to all of the neighbors who joined us.
We’re Helping to Train Future Leaders In partnership with Philadelphia Youth Network and the School District of Philadelphia, HRP hosts a 6-week summer internship program for high school students with a starting salary of $11/hour along with job shadowing and apprenticeship opportunities. This summer, Kaleaf and 30 high school students learned about the field of redevelopment and The Bellwether District project, and were partnered with and mentored by members of the HRP team at The Bellwether District to learn about different careers in real estate and construction. With The Bellwether District, HRP is proud to bring new job opportunities to generations of people - and construction is at the top of the list. (continued on the next page)
“The biggest takeaway [from my internship] was how commercial real estate actually worked. When I first was hired for my internship, I had little clue to what it fully was. I never knew how much time and effort had to be spent to have a potentially successful project. I learned communication, leadership skills…learned about environmental preparation and the environment's role in projects. I also learned skills to do with marketing and how important community and audience is.” - Kaleaf Fairfax, CAPA graduate and Southwest Philadelphia resident, two-time participant in summer internship at The Bellwether District
Page 3
THE BELLWETHER DISTRICT DISPATCH
On August 10, The Bellwether District hosted 38 young women in grades 7 12 who were graduating from this year’s Mentoring Young Women in Construction (MyWIC) program, a program of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC)’s Philadelphia chapter. Students took a tour of The Bellwether District, and learned not just about the project, but also the careers available in real estate and construction.
November 2023
“What interested me in construction is that I always loved working with my hands… and there are so many opportunities in careers in construction like being a superintendent or a project manager, or a general contractor.” - Diedre Riley, MyWIC participant
What’s Happening Around the Neighborhood This summer, our partners were focused on celebrating our neighbors, and connecting communities to opportunities.
Our partners were also making news.
In June, the Office of Sustainability invited families out for the annual Eastwick Community Day which included games for all ages, and the opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with partners working in the community like The United States Army Corps of Engineers, The EPA, FEMA, Heinz, and more.
In 2024, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary plans to break ground on an 8,000-square-foot hatchery at Bartram’s Garden that will potentially produce half a million mussels each year to purify the Susquehanna, Schuylkill and Delaware rivers.
And as the nation continued celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip hop, Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson hosted his legendary Annual Community Appreciation Day in August, featuring performances by State Property’s Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Chris and Neef, Trina, and the legendary KRS-One. Also in August, Resident Action Committee II hosted a job fair at the Southwest Philadelphia Salvation Army, connecting neighbors with representatives from companies including Amazon, Fresh Grocer, Penn Medicine, Universal Companies, and more.
LEARN MORE Also arriving in 2024 will be The Community Grocer, a healthy, hot food nonprofit corner store from recent UPenn graduates Alex Imbot and Eli Moraru. LEARN MORE
What’s Coming Up Interested in what’s happening at The Bellwether District? Want to get your questions answered and hear directly from members of the leadership team? Join us for the next virtual Community Meeting on Tuesday, November 14 at 6p.m. REGISTER HERE Then plan to join us on Thursday, November 16 at Grays Ferry Salvation Army for a Turkey Drive. Grab everything you need for your Thanksgiving meal and consider sticking around for a holiday dinner with your neighbors and the HRP team at The Bellwether District. Just RSVP at thebellwetherdistrict@hilcoglobal.com.
Before You Go ... make sure you are following us on all our channels, it's one of the best ways to stay connected. And if you're a community organization or a small business, be sure to tag us when sharing news or events on social media! @TheBellwetherDistrict
@thebellwetherdistrict
@Bellwetherdst
@The Bellwether District