CDLI: Being Strategic with Blighted Buildings

Explore options for strategically addressing blighted and vacant properties in your community.

Tuesday, April 4, 3:00pm-4:00pm | Via Zoom

Many Philadelphia neighborhoods struggle with vacant and blighted buildings. It’s critical that CDCs think strategically about how to best address them. This session will cover the legal definition of blight as well as the significant costs associated with these properties. We’ll cover how blighted buildings come into existence and the proper role of CDCs in the process. Participants will learn where to find critical information about these buildings, understand the code enforcement process in the City of Philadelphia, and how to use Pennsylvania’s Blighted & Abandoned Properties Act. We’ll also cover possible outcomes for these properties in addition to important and sensitive considerations for CDCs and community in the process.

Register Here

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Discounted and free tickets are available for this workshop. Please email Joanna at jwinchester@pacdc.org for a promo code, no questions asked.

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Presenter: Alex Balloon

Alex Balloon is the Executive Director at the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation, located in South Philadelphia, where he focuses on commercial corridor development and public space improvements. Alex has been a key advocate in citywide initiatives related to commercial corridor and neighborhood revitalization, including a campaign to save ad expand the city’s Storefront Improvement Program, modernize the city’s Business Security Grant Program, and other local regulatory reforms. Alex previously served as Executive Director of the Tacony CDC. Under his leadership, Tacony was one of a handful of pilot communities across the United States chosen for the Main Street® Refresh Project funded by the Knight Foundation. Alex earned a Master’s degree with a concentration in historic preservation and urban redevelopment from the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster.