The University City District (UCD) has released its annual State of University City report, which highlights different areas of development in the area in the past year, including real estate, employment, demographics, education, healthcare, transportation and more. During the presentation of the report on Thursday, UCD shared the stories of three innovative neighborhood businesses: Renata’s Kitchen, Two Locals Brewing, and Grant BLVD (check out this video).

Here are some most interesting stats from the 2024 State of University City report:

• University City has 55,953 residents, whose median age is 27.6;

• 84 percent of neighborhood residents work in University City, and 72 percent of jobs pay over $40,000 per year;

• 63 percent of residents ages 25+ have a bachelor’s degree or higher;

• The median single family home sale price is $537,000;

• 4,210 units of multi-family housing (apartments) are expected to be developed in the next three years;

• 929 new units of multi-family housing were developed in the past year;

• The number of new construction permits has decreased from 50 to a little over 10 since 2018.

• 57 percent of neighborhood residents do not use cars to commute;

• 24 percent of households’ primary language is not English.

To download the new report, click here. Read about some previous reports in our archives here.

Proposed Historic District designation area in Spruce Hill (image courtesy of SHCA).

The Philadelphia Historical Commission, the City’s preservation agency, is calling for public meetings to consider the proposal to designate a part of the Spruce Hill neighborhood as a historic district. The agency will hold two public meetings, on Wednesday, April 17 and Friday, May 10, when property owners and other interested parties are invited to comment on the proposed district. Both meetings will be on Zoom.

The proposed historic district consists of 572 properties and the boundaries are shown on the map above. The map also shows parts of Spruce Hill already designated as Historic Districts and properties included in the Registrar of Historic Places.

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Homeowners in Philadelphia may qualify to receive a real estate tax credit, but the program application period expires soon.

This year, the city conducted property value re-assessment. If your home’s property value goes up, you will see an increase in your real estate tax bill. A special fund was set up in collaboration with the FORWARD program to help people who own a home in Philadelphia to pay their real estate tax bill. If your bill has increased, you may qualify for a one-time credit (up to $500) that will be added to your real estate tax account located at the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Revenue.

The money will be used to pay your 2023 or 2024 tax bill or will be added to your City of Philadelphia Real Estate Tax Account as a credit for future tax years.

To apply for the tax credit, fill out an application on this page. Application deadline has been extended until January 31, 2024 at 5 p.m.

The city has released an interactive map that allows home owners to see the assessed value of their property following the citywide reassessment announced last week.

The first citywide property assessment in three years has come under mounting criticism as property values across the city increased an average of 31 percent. Tax rate increases vary by neighborhood with some seeing their tax burden as much as double.

The map allows property owners to type in their address to see the assessed value for 2022 and the new value, which would go into effect in 2023. Your property tax bill would be 1.3998 percent of your home’s assessed value, based on the city current tax rate.

The city’s “homestead exemption” will reduce your taxable value by $45,000. More info on that is available here. Mayor Jim Kenney has proposed increasing the homestead exemption to $65,000 to help offset tax increases.

You can dispute the new assessment here.

Philadelphia homeowners can now protect themselves from unsolicited offers from real estate brokers or wholesalers. Based on the “homeowner protection law” passed in 2020, which prohibits wholesalers and their agents from soliciting homeowners who don’t wish to be contacted, the City has launched a Do Not Solicit registry.

The types of solicitation may include in-person contact, telephone calls, mailings, digital communications and other written communication, like flyers placed at your door or on your vehicle. By registering in the list, homeowners opt out from receiving any direct offers to purchase their residential property as well as advertisements for “just listed” or sold houses in a neighborhood. Continue Reading

Small businesses along the 4700 block of Spruce Street are closing to make way for a 12-story apartment building.

The City’s Department of Licenses and Inspections issued a zoning permit on December 30 for a 170-unit building that will include some 37,000 square feet of commercial space on the first and second floors. The building, which will include three roof decks, will occupy nearly the entire south side of Spruce Street between 47th and 48th Streets.

Businesses have already begun closing or relocating to make way for the building. Ezra’s Auto Repair at the corner of 48th and Spruce (see photo below) has already relocated to Baltimore Avenue and businesses in the low rise strip to the east began closing late last year. Continue Reading