Developers, politicians, and city planners often promote an idealized version of urban living where every resident has easy access to amenities and services within close proximity to their homes. But in how many places has that vision been achieved, especially for residents lower down the economic ladder?
In recent years, the term “15-minute city” (or at times, the 20-minute neighborhood) has been popularized to achieve better results. The basic idea is to improve quality of life through a thoughtful approach to density, which is measured by a simple barometer: everything required for a healthy and sustaining life — fresh food, outdoor spaces, good schools, healthcare, and more — should be accessible to residents via a quick walk or trip on public transit.
It’s a reality that currently exists for too few Philadelphians. But it’s also not impossible to achieve.
That was a consistent theme of The Citizen’s latest installment of its Development…for Good event series, which brings together the brightest minds for conversations about how private development and public placemaking can reshape our city. Development for Good is a partnership between The Citizen, Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation and Fitler Club.
On Tuesday night, around 70 attendees heard from two developers, one private and one public, who are the visionaries behind ambitious projects that exemplify the design of a 15-minute neighborhood in action: Charles Lomax, the Chairman and CEO of Lomax Real Estate Partners, which is building Village Square in Mantua; and Kelvin Jeremiah, the president and CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, which is developing the Sharswood Choice neighborhood in North Philly.
During a conversation that was moderated by Laura Slutsky, Guidehouse Director of Housing and Community Solutions, Jeremiah shared the inside story of how PHA financed and navigated the political terrain to develop a $750 million transformation of Sharswood, a 40-block neighborhood in North Philadelphia that was formerly synonymous with a notorious high-rise housing project, the Norman Blumberg Apartments, which PHA demolished in 2016, and has since been reimagined as a neighborhood of choice.
“This was a 1960s public housing development that I would consider failed public policy,” Jeremiah said during the panel. “So in a community that needed it the most, they lacked every amenity that you would’ve expected. And in a neighborhood that’s about 8 blocks away from Center City, there were families that lived at Blumberg for 60 years who didn’t know that the Rocky steps were blocks away. We’ve come a long way from where we were.”
Lomax, whose project is currently under development, emphasized the importance of shaping a mixed-use project around the bespoke needs of that community in order for it to succeed. Lomax Real Estate Partners is currently underway with Village Square, a development that will occupy two blocks in Mantua and contain 225 units of mixed-income housing, along with the new headquarters of Black-owned radio station WURD, a supermarket, a medical center, and a cafe.
Among other topics, Lomax spoke about his vision for the housing project as a creator of both wealth and opportunity for Black Philadelphians, which is a legacy he carries on from his father, Dr. Walter Lomax, the late physician, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. “One of the burning issues for my father was how do you economically empower the African-American community,” Lomax says. “That is something that we take very seriously and is part of the ethos of everything we do.”
Development …for Good is sponsored by Brandywine Realty Trust, The Bellwether District-an HRP Project, Clarke & Cohen Property Loss Consultants, Darco Capital, Campus Apartments and Firstrust Bank.
Video of Development … for Good event:
Photos from How to Build a 15-Minute Neighborhood below:
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