Investing in historic Brewerytown

Philadelphia’s Brewerytown has been a struggling neighborhood. Bordered by Fairmount Park to the west and Girard Avenue to the south, the area consisted mostly of uninhabited, idle industrial and commercial sites. It included the abandoned historic Red Bell Brewery, the Pyramid Building and the Acme warehouse. Oddly, the neighborhood was also home to about 100 horses, housed under dangerous conditions in several of the vacant structures.

In 2002, TRF’s Philadelphia Market Value Analysis (MVA) had identified Brewerytown as a neighborhood with strong assets, where there was potential to build from its existing strengths to prevent or even potentially reverse early indications of decline. Together with developers Westrum Urban Opportunity, Slavko Properties and Pennrose, TRF began working to bring new life to the Brewerytown neighborhood.

By creating a mixed income neighborhood with market and affordable rental as well as homeownership properties, TRF hopes to move historic Brewerytown towards economic and social revitalization. This redevelopment project will remove significant physical decay from the area as well as have a strong positive effect on the surrounding neighborhoods.

TRF is providing a range of financing for projects in the neighborhood that will create an unprecedented number of new townhomes, apartments and commercial retail properties in the area. The first phase of the project includes 144 market-rate townhomes that went on sale in the summer of 2005 with 13 of the Westrum-built homes selling the very first day.

TRF financing is also helping convert the Acme building into 130 market rate loft apartments and 60 rental properties with commercial space at the ground level. The building also houses a new headquarters for affordable housing builder Pennrose Properties and an office the Brewerytown CDC, which is creating community space and a computer facility for local residents.

TRF has also worked with the Brewerytown CDC to develop a neighborhood assessment and investment opportunity plan for the entire neighborhood. “TRF’s innovative use of data and strong understanding of urban planning and development was evident in their work with us,” says Azim Muhammad, Executive Director of the Breweytown CDC. “With their expertise, we were able to create development partnerships to rebuild our neighborhood.”

Additionally, TRF provided financing to several smaller local developers for scattered-site rehabs around the 14-acre site. Partnering with the City, TRF has supported basic systems repair grants for approximately 40 long-time residents in the area and is working to bring a new supermarket to the neighborhood.

TRF’s commitment to rebuild neighborhoods like Brewerytown is grounded in an understanding of its assets and its potential. Working with the local community group, city government and a range of developers, TRF’s investments in housing and commercial development is revitalizing this neighborhood as a mixed income community with the amenities it needs to make it stable and strong.