As Philadelphia and the nation struggle with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC) released a new report showing that over the last 28 years, community development in Philadelphia has boosted the Philadelphia economy by more than $5.4 billion, and more than $9 billion in Pennsylvania. “To recover from the COVID crisis, we need an unprecedented commitment from policy makers and others to invest in affordable homes, small businesses, and non-profits in our communities. This report shows that work will create jobs and build wealth in our lowest income communities, as well as generate tax revenue in our local economy,” said Maria Gonzalez, President of HACE and PACDC Board President.

The key findings of the report include:

• CDCs and related organizations’ economic impact in Philadelphia included direct spending of $3.9 billion and $1.5 billion in indirect spending, for a total of a $5.4 billion economic impact in the city.
• In Pennsylvania, the economic impact included $3.9 billion in direct spending and $5.1 billion in indirect spending, for a total of $9 billion economic impact in the state.
• These activities created 12,790 full time equivalent jobs in Philadelphia, and 45,820 in Pennsylvania.
• More than $2.4 billion wealth was created due to these investments for Philadelphia homeowners by increasing property values, which generated more than $18 million in annual revenue for local schools.
• The work generated one-time tax revenue payments to Philadelphia city government of $45 million, or $137 million to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The activities evaluated in the report include streetscape improvements, revitalizing neighborhood shopping districts, as well as building new or rehabilitating existing affordable homes. Examples include the Orinoka Civic House by New Kensington CDC that provided affordable homes and office space in a formerly vacant factory and nearly two dozen storefront improvements of shops on Torresdale Avenue done by the Tacony CDC. Additional economic impact came from the CDC operations, including their staff and programmatic work that strengthens our neighborhoods.

“Through the Great Recession, the building boom that led to gentrification, and continuing past COVID-19, CDCs are committed to investing in our communities, and we will keep serving through good times and bad,” says Rick Sauer, PACDC Executive Director.

“By doubling down on community development investments to recover from COVID, Philadelphia can recover our economy in ways that attack poverty and inequality, and build equity and ownership for people of color in Philadelphia,” said Majeedah Rashid, Chief Operating Officer of Nicetown CDC and PACDC Board Vice President.

PACDC and its members called on policy makers in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Washington to pass stimulus measures that would dramatically boost investments in affordable homes and small businesses, and for the corporate and private philanthropic community to make more
significant grants to these neighborhood activities.

“We’ll only get out of this crisis with neighborhood-based CDCs and other non-profits that are singularly focused on the health, safety, and security of their communities, so any recovery plan needs to place those organizations and their work front and center,” concluded Sauer.