Thriving in the Urban Core

21 Feb, 2014

By Rachel Duran

Well-orchestrated redevelopments create jobs and breathe life into the surrounding community.

Urban core revitalization projects throughout America create economic opportunity, but perhaps more importantly, they engage community stakeholders in taking ownership and sharing in the vision of these redevelopments. In addition to sharing the types of developments they would like to see occur in their neighborhoods, stakeholders are forming stronger relationships with city leaders.

In Kalispell, Mont., a core area redevelopment plan to address moving the railroad tracks running through the core of this town of 20,000 people resulted in relationships where business owners and others feel more comfortable in calling the city with questions. “The greatest value in all of this is the positive rapport built between the community and their city employees,” says Katharine Thompson, MPA, community development manager for the city of Kalispell.

Craig Keys says his favorite part of redevelopment activities is working with the community. As the associate vice president of civic engagement for the University of Southern California (USC), he is charged with managing relationships with the community in the South Los Angeles region. Those relationships include overseeing business services and educational programs available to community members, with one program starting in the sixth grade.

This summer, USC will move forward with construction on a large redevelopment project, which includes revitalization of the USC Village. “The Village project is important because we are in need of new amenities near the campus,” Keys says. “We have a number of amenities on the main campus but what is important is the Village serves the community as well as staff and students.” Community members recognize the redevelopment is a tremendous economic opportunity. “They are excited about the prospect of additional jobs coming to the community.

“From a planning perspective it is important to succeed for the community and the university,” Keys continues. For instance, the retail stores in the Village will not compete with local malls. “The idea is to enhance the local economy and the success of the university in being able to attract students, attract people to work here, and do research here, and that produces jobs for the local community,” he says.

In Philadelphia, the transformation of the Navy Yard has turned a bleak situation into an economic driver. The military decided to close the shipyard, which had been an anchor for more than 100 years in the city in terms of employment and business opportunities. The new opportunities at a transformed Navy Yard focused on keeping and creating jobs in the location. “The Navy Yard has always been a place about production and employment, so we looked at how can we expand that and do it in a modern way that would be sustainable for the future,” says John Grady, president, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp.

The redevelopment project also allowed developers to conduct a large scale planning process that engaged civic, political and community leaders from around Philadelphia who provided input into an initial reuse plan and to establish that the Navy Yard would be a place of work, in part around manufacturing as well as diverse activities that would create a more economically sustainable location.

Redevelopments in blighted or older areas aim to create progressive and vibrant environments attractive to startups and established companies alike.

The Navy has retained 2,300 civilian positions, maintaining an engineering function, as well as manufacturing propellers and maintaining inactive ships. The Navy sold 1,000 acres of property to the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., which was acquired in 2001 and 2002 on behalf of the city.

“In the last few years we [state of Pennsylvania] have been focused on not trying to recover individual industries but making sure we diversify our economy,” says Steve Kratz, communications director, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. “The Navy Yard is incredible. You can really see the history when it was a Navy facility; it has been transformed into a modern yet historic business park. It has been key in attracting young people to the city.”

New Attitudes

Redevelopments in blighted or older areas aim to create progressive and vibrant environments attractive to startups and established companies alike. For example, the Navy Yard is home to the headquarters of established pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline; an operation for Tasty Baking Co.; and Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, which employs 1,200 and which is building $2 billion worth of ships for the private sector, spurred by developments in the domestic energy sector. The headquarters for Urban Outfitters is also located at the Navy Yard, and last fall the company announced plans for an expansion.

Startups include Internet-based companies that are tied into the logistics and distribution synergies found at the Navy Yard. An example of a successful startup venture is Iroko Pharmaceuticals LLC, which started six years ago at the Navy Yard with five staff members. Today, the company employs more than 200 people and operates in more than 40 countries, Grady says.

He also says the presence of the Navy assists in attracting private industry and academic researchers who want to engage with the military in ship systems and electrical engineering research. The U.S. Department of Defense’s Energy Efficiency Office is located at the Navy Yard. Penn State University is a major partner in research and engineering around energy and manufacturing, smart grids and energy efficiency. Schools such as Villanova and Drexel offer engineering-based research and graduate education at the site.

McKean Defense Group is another startup company located at the Navy Yard. Three partners acquired a Washington, D.C., defense contractor and moved the operation to the Navy Yard. The company got its name from McKean Street in south Philadelphia, where the three partners grew up.

Grady says the company has more than 215 partners around the world, with the majority of them in Philadelphia. “I think that is because of the diversity, that we are not dependent on any one sector,” he says. “And because of the campus environment there is a lot of collaboration among business. When people look for a location they look for an environment where their employees can be in a collaborative environment where the company can have the opportunity to be near similar minded people.”

What’s more, the notion of openness to expansion and opportunities for collaboration are viewed as progressive by businesses. Liberty Property Trust has a provision in their leases that allows companies to tear up leases in the event they need more space, signing a new lease for larger spaces as they need them.

Grady says the amenities at the Navy Yard, such as parks and jogging paths help connect companies with each other, breaking down silos and encouraging collaboration. “The fact that these companies have a real role in establishing a new identity for this historic property gets them excited,” he says.

Redevelopment projects often create new opportunities that hadn’t been possible in the past, which in turn attract new industry. In Kalispell, businesses and community members alike agreed the rail tracks running through the 364-acre core in the city had to go; the tracks bifurcated the city, creating limited north-south connectivity. However, there are two companies using the tracks for business needs. Kalispell’s officials needed to find a location more suitable for industrial rail users, with space for trains to turn around, which they were unable to do in town.

In Kalispell, Thompson says the 1,100 parcels in the core area are owned by 450 property owners. City officials met with 149 of the owners to learn their plans for their properties and what they would want to see in the neighborhood. “They wanted a much more walkable community, more sidewalks,” Thompson says. “What can we do to make it more accessible? A number of people said they want to be less dependent on cars and be able to walk to shopping and entertainment.”

Attention to Details

Redevelopment projects often create new opportunities that hadn’t been possible in the past, which in turn attract new industry. In Kalispell, businesses and community members alike agreed the rail tracks running through the 364-acre core in the city had to go; the tracks bifurcated the city, creating limited north-south connectivity. However, there are two companies using the tracks for business needs. Kalispell’s officials needed to find a location more suitable for industrial rail users, with space for trains to turn around, which they were unable to do in town.

Partnering with the local port authority, city officials found a win-win in a 40-acre former gravel pit the port authority wanted to develop, which is located on the outskirts of Kalispell. The location is ideal for an industrial rail park, and is located next to a 55-acre property owned by BNSF. In addition to supporting the relocation of the two businesses that rely on rail services, the site creates an opportunity for the community to attract new rail users. Additionally, the new rail development will allow the city to pull up the tracks in town and convert them into a linear park concept that would connect the city from east to west.

Thompson says the redevelopment will open up a connection between Woodland Park on the east side of town and a rails to trail trailhead on the west side of town, which connects to 22 miles of a bike trail. In its current state, there isn’t an easy way to get from one park to the other.

“I haven’t seen so much consistent positive feedback on a project,” Thompson says. “They [stakeholders] wanted to see the trails connect, see more green, and make the community more walkable and attractive to help bring more investment to the area. Everyone came at it from a different perspective, but it was universally recognized that something needed to be done differently [with the rail tracks]. It needed our attention and to do nothing was not going to solve it.”

Keys says the redevelopment project at USC will dramatically change the community, both visually and economically, for the better. “I think that the city did a good job of considering the opportunities to have the university development integrated into the community and to encourage the community to come on to the campus and tie it into the transportation opportunities, light rail and others.”

For complete details on the organizations featured in this article, visit:

City of Kalispell, Mont.