Annual Meeting 2025 by Old City District

Old City District Community Report

April 23, 2025

Agenda

➢What is "Old City District"?

➢How is OCD funded?

➢Focus Areas

➢Clean & Safe

➢Marketing

➢Economic Development

➢What's Next

➢Questions

About Old City District

Mission

To improve Philadelphia's historic district as a place for people to meet, work, shop and live by supplementing municipal services with maintenance, public safety, economic development and promotional programs.

About Old City District

➢Established by Philadelphia City Council in 1998

➢Service area bounded by Florist Street to the north, Walnut/Dock Streets to the south, Front Street to the east and 6th Street to the west

About Old City District

➢OCD is a Business Improvement District (BID) in which commercial property owners pay an assessment to fund supplemental services and improvements within the district’s boundaries

➢Owner-occupied residential property owners do not pay an assessment

About Old City District

➢

OCD serves to supplement, but not replace, both the services provided by the City of Philadelphia and the responsibilities of property owners

Community Groups

➢Franklin Bridge North Neighbors (north of the Bridge)

➢ https://franklinbridgenort.wixsite.com/fbnn

➢Old City Green

➢ oldcitygreenphiladelphia@gmail.com

➢No civic association serves south of the Bridge

➢No Old City business association

Old City District Board of Directors

➢Patrick Shillenn – Board Chair

➢Valerie Lyons, Weber Gallagher – Vice Chair

➢Donn Clendenon, Clendenon Properties LLC –

Secretary

➢Jennifer Nagle, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau – Treasurer

➢Kathryn Bittner, WSFS Bank

➢Jeffrey Brown, Property Developer

➢Briana Wilkins, Parkway Corporation

➢Carrie Feiler-Bender, Relief Communications

➢Erik Derr, Becker LLC

➢Vince Lattuca

➢Donal McCoy, Sassafras Bar

➢Ashley Peel, Philadelphia Independents

➢Betsy Oliphant Ross, Consultant

➢Joe Tice, Accelalpha

➢Brennan Tomasetti, Civetta Property Group LLC

➢Lizzie Woods, Delaware River Waterfront Corporation

National Park Service Liaison: Steven Sims, Independence National Historic Park

Ex-Officio/Non-Voting Member: Hon. Mark Squilla, Philadelphia City Council

Counsel: Josh Grimes, Esq.

Old City District Staff

Job Itzkowitz ExecutiveDirector

Brett Mapp DirectorofOperations

Leah Ben SeniorMarketingManager

Lili Razi

EconomicDevelopmentCoordinator

Five-Year Plan & Budget

• Enabling legislation to exist through 2038

• Every five years, OCD submits a Plan & Budget for City Council Approval

• That budget states what OCD can collect via assessments each year

How do assessments work?

• Total Commercial Value in OCD is:

$1,416,981,009.00

• 508-32 Walnut

• Assessed value is: $126,167,500

• ~X% of the total commercial value in OCD

• ~X% of OCD’s budget

• OCD’s billing amount for 2025 is $1,245,264

• Therefore, 508-32 Walnut pays X% of $1,245,264, or ~$111,027.40

• Rate works out to 0.00088

$40,000.00

$20,000.00

$0.00

Old City Ratepayers 508-32 Walnut $111,000 Median ratepayer: $381

Clean and Safe

New Cleaning Company

Trash collection

Sticker Removal

Needle collection

Graffiti Removal

Grayman Security Risk Management

• The Grayman Ambassadors works in the Old City neighborhood to ensure the safety of its businesses, staff, and residents.

• The Ambassadors also handle homeless outreach and addiction referral services.

• Teams of two ambassadors patrol the Old City neighborhood.

• Three patrols per week, including two-weekend evening patrols

2024 Data

➢Wellness check

➢694

➢Disorderly conduct

➢88

➢Unruly person

➢68

➢Altercation

➢57

➢Narcan

➢6

Savage Sisters

• Savage Sisters provides the Philadelphia community with resources for those living with or affected by substance use disorder

• Teams of two outreach workers

• Two rotating shifts per week

Old City Task Force

Marketing

➢Promote the neighborhood as a place for people to meet, work, shop and live by highlighting the neighborhood’s worldclass assets

www.oldcitydistrict.org

Social Media

80,000+ followers across platforms

Social Media Objectives

Focus Areas of Old City's Social Media:

➢Share new business openings and milestones

➢Promote events hosted by Old City businesses and Old City District

➢Report on OCD operations and industry news

➢Attract new businesses and investment

Social Media Highlights

➢Instagram continues to be the most active platform with nearly 50K followers

➢Influencer partnerships + reels result in high engagement

➢Top-performing Reel reached over 1 million views — a record high for our account

2024 Old City District Map

45,000 maps

➢Shops, restaurants, hotels, museums, residences in Old City

Old City Wedding Stroll

Old City Eats Block Party

Historic Holidays in Old City

2024 by the Numbers

7 live events

6 events

83k+ Visits

25+ visitors

80k+ followers

Looking Ahead

➢Launched Old City Business

Socials in 2025

➢Strategic Marketing Plan wraps in May, guiding future ideas and events

➢Using 2025 lay groundwork for new ideas as we ramp up for a busy 2026

Economic Development

Vision2026: Continuing Work

➢Published spring 2016 following an extensive public engagement process

➢Including a public survey with ~500 respondents

➢Intended to serve as a framework to help shape the future of Old City

Vision2026: Continuing Work

Values

+ Aspirations

➢ Be a world-class walking neighborhood

➢ Foster civic life through great public space

➢ Re-Occupy vacant buildings and unbuilt parcels

➢ Clarify goals of the neighborhood for developers

➢ Cultivate people: more resident, workers, visitors

➢ Enhance and protect historic and creative character

➢ Attract neighborhood-serving retail (especially a grocery!)

➢ Connect better to nearby neighborhoods

➢ Encourage car-free travel as the first choice of most

Market Street Transformation

Source: Urban Engineers

Market St. Project 2025

Will add bike lanes, landscaping to Market St.

Source: Urban Engineers

SEPTA Market and 2nd Streets Headhouse Improvement Project

3rd Street bike lane project

Commerce Street

➢ Total estimated cost now at $3.6M

➢ The City of Philadelphia provided funding in its most recent capital budget

➢ Independence Historical Trust and Old City

Green working on value engineering

Dolly Ottey Park

Discussions are ongoing with Old City Green, the landowner, and the Elfreth’s Alley Association for potential shortterm improvements to be completed in time for the country's 250th birthday.

Real Estate Newsletter

Available Commercial Properties

Broker Event

Old City Data

2021 - 2024 Weekly Visits

Source: Placer.ai 0

Total Annual Visits

TREND IN OLD CITY

2021-2024 Weekly Employee Visits

Weekly Visits - Employees

4.5% increase from 2023

Source: Placer.ai

Vacancy Rate

Source: Old City District

23 New Businesses Opened in 2024

• The Papery of Philadelphia

• Almost Home General

• IDK Smash Burgerz & Nashville Hot Chicken

• Black Hen

• Coffee & Tea Company CTC

• Rocky Souvenirs

• IC Macaron

• Society Hill Hotel Bar Restaurant

• Calandrino's Old City Vino

• The Loxley Hotel

• Avian & Exotic Philly Vet

• IncentFit

• Be Bare Face+ Body

• The Jane Gallery

• Jewelz Entertainment

• Whizz E-bikes

• Seeger Weiss LLP

• Lincoln Locks & Keys

• The Gas Lamp Hotel

• Procession Gallery

• STAATE

• Seek One Art

• The Dermatology Specialist

Old City Monthly Visits Percent Recovery to Prepandemic Levels and Retail Vacancy Rate

Sources: Old City District and Placer AI

Visits: Total number of visits over the time period, even if that person visited more than once during that time period.

What’s New / What’s Next

2025 Commercial Property Values

• What happens if the top 50 properties lose 50% of their assessed value?

• Total commercial value in the district drops from $1.5B to $1.B

• Assessment rate jumps from .0008 to .0012 (50% increase)

2025 Commercial Property Values

• The top 50 properties did go down in assessed value.

• The Total commercial value in the district dropped from $1.5B to $1.4B

• The Assessment rate did go up from .00080 to .00088 for 2025

How do assessments work? (2024)

• Total Commercial Value in OCD is: $1,504,496,935

• 508-32 Walnut

• Assessed value is: $158,108,600

• ~10.5% of the total commercial value in OCD

• ~10.5% of OCD’s budget

• OCD’s billing amount for 2025 is $1,197,369

• Therefore, 508-32 Walnut pays ~10.5% of $1,197,369, or ~$126,000

• Rate works out to 0.0008

How do assessments work? (2025)

• Total Commercial Value in OCD is:

$1,416,981,009.00

• 508-32 Walnut

• Assessed value is: $95,000,000

• ~X% of the total commercial value in OCD

• ~X% of OCD’s budget

• OCD’s billing amount for 2025 is $1,245,264

• Therefore, 508-32 Walnut pays ~X% of $1,245,264, or ~$111,000

• Rate works out to 0.00088

How do assessments work? (2024)

Old City Ratepayers

Top 50 ratepayers pay 65% of OCD’s budget

$80,000.00

$60,000.00

$40,000.00

$20,000.00

$0.00

How do assessments work? (2025)

Old City Ratepayers

$40,000.00

$20,000.00

$0.00

Top 50 ratepayers pay 61% of OCD’s budget

How do assessments work? (2024)

Old City Ratepayers

508-32 Walnut $126,000

Median ratepayer: $323

$40,000.00

$20,000.00

$0.00

Hypothetical revised assessment

Revised OCD Assessment

$100,000.00

$90,000.00

$80,000.00

$70,000.00

$60,000.00

$50,000.00

$40,000.00

$30,000.00

$20,000.00

$10,000.00

$0.00

508-32

Walnut

$95,000

Median ratepayer: $486

How do assessments work? (2025)

Old City Ratepayers

508-32 Walnut $111,000

Median ratepayer: $381

$40,000.00

$20,000.00

$0.00

New Developments

~560 total units coming soon

~900 more residents

~10% growth

New Developments

➢ Additional 1,800 units planned for Durst projects

~2,700 more residents

Total projected growth:

➢ ~3,600 more residents

➢ ~45% growth

Source: DRWC

I-95 Park Cap Underway!

Will connect Old City with the waterfront

Source: DRWC

Source: NBC Philadelphia

Source: www.ocfrealty.com

Wilson Park

➢ Independence Historical Trust seeking grant funding to revisit park design

PATCO’s Franklin Square Station

➢The PATCO Franklin Square station reopened for service on April 3, 2025.

➢The new entrance includes a “green roof” to manage stormwater runoff and transparent walls to allow natural light.

Source: WHYY

Bicentennial Bell at Benjamin Rush Garden

Independence Historical Trust revamped Benjamin Rush Garden at 3rd & Walnut ➢ Completed

Source: WHYY

New Developments

Address: 301 Chestnut Street

Unit Count:

15 hospitality rooms

Society Hill Restaurant on ground floor

Status: Completed

New Developments

Address: 140 N. 2nd Street

Posse Juice on ground floor.

Status: Completed

New Developments

➢ Address: 27 N 3rd Street

Ministry Of Awe 501(c)(3) seeks to strengthen the cultural fabric of Philadelphia, transforming untapped potential into extraordinary art.

➢ Status: Under construction, ADA accessibility features being added

New Developments

Address: 160-64 N. 2nd Street

6 Residentials

1 Commercial

Status: Completed

New Developments

Address: 141-43 N. 4th Street

Unit Count: 36

Status: Under Construction

New Developments

Address: 69-71 N. 2nd Street

Unit Count:

4 hospitality rooms and a ground floor restaurant space

Status: Under Construction

New Developments

➢ Address: 151 North 3rd Street

(alternatively 225 Quarry Street)

Unit Count:

6 Story

11 Residentials Ground floor parking

Status: Under Construction

Address: 20-22 Bank Street

units

4 parking spaces

Status: Under Construction

The Bourse

➢ Address: 111 S Independence Mall E

➢ Unit Count: Unknown

Status:

On Aug. 30, 2024, zoning permit were issued for the 302,600-square-foot Bourse to convert floors 3, 4 and 8 of the historic building from office space into a hotel.