In his annual “State of Center City” presentation, Center City District CEO Paul Levy yesterday called the continuing growth of local universities and health care services the city’s “buffer against the recession.”
But one of the biggest challenges facing Center City is the stagnation of office space. Since 1990, overall office space has decreased by 700,000 square feet. Although the Comcast Center was built during that time, the city “adapted and reused vacant and historical buildings” into a 98 percent increase in hotel rooms and new residential units.
Levy has many plans for the future of Center City such as $50 million in renovations to Dilworth Plaza as well as streetscape and transit improvements.
“We need to move quickly to capture the next cycle of growth,” Levy said.
