One of Andy's Economic Development Accomplishments Groben's Seafood restaurant has been a fixture in Mt Airy for many years. Three years ago Andy worked with Mt Airy USA and the City to help leverage a LISC Facade Improvement Grant to update the restaurant at 6833 Germantown Avenue. It was in large part to Andy's efforts at LISC that this improvement went forward and stimulated a number of other projects right on the same block.

Restoring Philadelphia’s Real Estate Assets

One of Philadelphia’s biggest untapped resources is its real estate, specifically vacant and underutilized properties. Through a multi-pronged approach, I will help us to bring properties back to productive use for neighborhoods rather than sit as abandoned dangerous blights in communities.

First, we need to use our tax foreclosure powers aggressively on vacant properties. Believe it or not, there are currently 92,000 tax delinquent properties in the City totaling over $433 million in delinquent taxes owed. Even if we were to collect half of what is owed we could fund additional teachers for our schools, fix more of our infrastructure or put more police on the streets. Also, redevelopment of these properties would lead to ongoing additional real estate tax revenues and wage and business taxes from those living or working in redeveloped properties. More importantly, we would open up the real estate market in places that need new life and people. Those acquiring the properties through tax foreclosure must be held accountable to improve those properties within a year or lose them back to the City. This process would also allow CDCs to gain site control of properties more rapidly. Lastly, I helped to design the State law that eliminated the One Year Right of Redemption for all vacant properties.

Second, a Land Bank that is efficient and not tied up politically would serve as a clearinghouse for properties that are not privately purchased during Tax Foreclosure Sales (Sheriff Sales). New York City began its programs with thousands of properties a decade ago and now has no properties left in its successful Land Bank because they have all been acquired and redeveloped. As we develop Philadelphia’s Land Bank we can easily look at best practices around the country and apply them here rather than reinventing the wheel.

Third, transparency is critical in a good program. If properties are widely advertised, many more will recognize the opportunity and perhaps become homeowners or move here from other places. The City will benefit through higher sales prices. I would propose copying Baltimore’s SCOPE program, which uses realtors to market public properties just like they market private properties. This will allow all to know how to acquire a property and not be a secret process that requires “knowing someone”. Realtors would receive commissions just like they do for private sales, but this would be offset by the higher prices due to greater competition from buyers. Even if we don’t accomplish all of these elements, together there will be great benefit to neighborhoods and the City from each of these proposals.

Andy's 11/30/2005 testimony before Philadelphia City Council on commercial corridor development read here

Andy's 11/15/2004 testimony before Philadelphia City Council on funding for SEPTA read here

Andy's 6/20/2000 testimony before Philadelphia City Council on stadiums read here

Andy's December 2003 Letter to the Editor, Philadelpia Inquirer on economic development read here

Andy's August 2001 Letter to the Editor, Philadelphia Daily News on blightread here