Philadelphia – Today, Rebuilding Community Infrastructure (Rebuild) submitted a Project Statement, its plan for the next 18-months of operation, to City Council. The Project Statement, which must be approved by the passage of a resolution as required by Ordinance 170206, details the first round of parks, recreation centers and libraries, 61 sites in total, proposed for Rebuild investment. Lease ordinances for the proposed sites were also transmitted to City Council.
“The Project Statement lays out an ambitious plan for the first round of investments in parks, recreation centers and libraries. It’s clear that there is need, both community-based and physical, across the city. This list includes sites of all sizes and types in every part of Philadelphia. We want to thank City Council for working with us to identify a diverse list of initial investments,” said Nicole Westerman, Executive Director of Rebuild. “Today’s announcements are the next step in the process to ensure that Rebuild can begin the hard work of improving facilities, engaging and empowering communities and promoting economic inclusion in the design and construction industries; steps that we will scale up as soon as the beverage tax challenge is upheld.”
Sites were proposed in every Council District. The sites include:
- 23 playgrounds;
- 19 recreation centers;
- 7 co-located recreation center/libraries;
- 7 parks; and
- 5 libraries.
Read the Project Statement here.
In addition to the resolution and ordinance and the Project Statement submission to City Council, Rebuild made public the data it used to inform the site selection process.
During its initial planning process, Rebuild identified three investment priorities: invest in neighborhoods with high needs; invest in neighborhoods where projects may have a stabilizing or revitalizing effect; and invest in sites with urgent physical needs.
To inform the first two investment priorities, Rebuild used poverty, drug crime, health indicator, household growth, Market Value Analysis and residential building permit data. Rebuild used conversations with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and Free Library of Philadelphia staff to inform urgent need selections. Input from District Council members provided context to the data and site needs information Rebuild gathered during the planning process.
All that information was used to compile the first round of sites proposed in the Project Statement.
To help Philadelphians better understand the data and investment priorities, and in line with its commitment to transparency, Rebuild released the data in map form and made it searchable by address.
The maps can be viewed here.