Below we present Curbed-relevant excerpts from the mayor's state-of-the-city address to the Chamber of Commerce. Anyone want to fact-check the mayor's neighborhood assertions? Ping our tipline: philly@curbed.com.
"Improving Philadelphia’s built environment will remain a top priority in my second term."
Dilworth Plaza will: "rival the parks of Paris, London and Rome."
Philadelphia is and will be:
· cleaner, healthier, safer, smarter
· a city of ideas, where ingenuity is celebrated
· world-class
· on the move
· a critical member of the global marketplace
· livable
· global
· international
· increasingly competitive
· progressive
· great
· educated
· sustainable
· green
Waterfront news:
"On the Delaware Waterfront, we opened the Race Street Pier and Connector and will complete the trail network, from Pennsport to Tacony. On the Schuylkill, the trail is extending below South Street. Soon Philadelphia will boast the two best waterfronts in the nation."
Neighborhood-specific progress:
· There has been revitalization of Woodland Avenue, El Centro De Oro and Girard Avenue East.
· Baltimore Avenue has the City’s first pop-up park in front of the Green Line Café.
· Bustleton and Castor Avenues have thriving Russian and Brazilian immigrant businesses.
· Market Street West between 46th and 63rd streets is a prime corridor for growth and development, right under the newly renovated El.
· We hope to redevelop the Reading Viaduct with the Center City District in the Callowhill/ North Chinatown neighborhood—our own “High Line Philly”.
· Xfinity Live will be opening in March in the Sports Complex area.
Market Street East and North Broad Street (two of Philadelphia's "great boulevards"):
"On Market Street East ... we are focused on working with businesses and retailers to make a cleaner, safer, more enjoyable experience for everyone and to stop the code violations and behavioral problems that currently hold this area back.
"I am committed to returning Market East to its former glory, creating a walkable boulevard from City Hall to the river—a connector from our city’s historic heart to the central business district and cultural corridors.
"Families finished visiting the sites on Independence Mall will walk to 13th Street’s Midtown Village or Rittenhouse Square for dinner, or even stroll all the way down the Ben Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Barnes Museum, which will soon make Philadelphia the art capital of the world."
Proof of North Broad Street renewal:
The expanded Convention Center;
The creation of Lenfest Plaza at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts;
The construction of the Pennsylvania Ballet’s new studios;
The dining destinations of Osteria, Route 6, Alla Spina and Via;
The impending redevelopment of the Inquirer building; and
Temple University’s investment of $200 million to help revitalize this street.
Final inspirational salvo:
I love Philadelphia; it is my hometown. I also know everyone in this room loves Philadelphia because you have chosen this city. You have chosen to make it your home and the place for your business. Be our ambassadors, share our vision for an international Philadelphia, and I promise you, there is nothing we can’t do when we work together. Mayor Nutter Delivers Address to Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce [City of Philadelphia]
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