When Tasty Baking Company, a Philadelphia favorite since 1914, needed to modernize its manufacturing and distribution facility, The Navy Yard was selected because of its location, size, and existing infrastructure. Together with Liberty Property Trust and Synterra Partners, Tasty Baking developed one of the world's largest LEED®-certified bakeries. Paul Ridder, President of Tasty Baking, states, "The Navy Yard site is ideal; with access to a large and talented workforce and unprecedented connectivity to the highway system, we are able to get our products out faster, fresher, and farther than ever." Tasty Baking, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Flowers Foods, Inc., continues to thrive and prepare for its second century with a sweet and sustainable future at The Navy Yard.
GSK, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, had a clear vision for revolutionizing its office environment: an open layout that fosters idea sharing and collaboration. That vision came to life at The Navy Yard in a four-story, 208,000-square-foot, natural light-filled double LEED®-certified Platinum office building at Five Crescent Drive, developed for GSK by Liberty Property Trust and Synterra Partners. "At The Navy Yard, we have begun the next chapter in our Philadelphia story with this inspiring, dynamic workspace in a beautiful campus setting. From the atrium, with its grand stairway and coffee bar, to the variety of work settings and rooftop terrace, every part of the building is designed to encourage employee interaction and collaboration," says GSK North America Pharmaceuticals President Deirdre Connelly.
The Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station (NAVSSES), Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, is the U.S. Navy's only organization responsible for shipboard machinery systems research and engineering. NAVSSES focuses on the full spectrum of machinery engineering: from science and technology, through research, development, testing, and evaluation, to in-service engineering. As an R&D anchor of the Smart Energy Campus, "...NAVSSES is committed to conducting sustainable power and energy research that impacts our nation's entire naval fleet for the future," says Patricia Woody, NAVSSES Department Head. With a $1.2 billion annual defense budget and over 1,800 civilian employees, NAVSSES is keeping the Navy's heritage of military innovation alive at The Navy Yard.
The Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI) is a U.S. Department of Energy Innovation Hub located at The Navy Yard, funded with a five-year, $129 million renewable federal grant, and also supported by three other federal agencies and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. CBEI is a 27-member consortium focused on solving energy efficiency challenges by designing and deploying proven, economically viable technologies that significantly reduce energy consumption in the nation's commercial buildings, while also promoting regional economic growth and job creation. "The Department of Energy chose The Navy Yard for CBEI due to its campus-wide commitment to energy innovation and deployment," notes Hank Foley, Executive Director.
The Kensington and Fishtown sections of the city are prime examples of neighborhoods that are experiencing an economic renaissance, thanks to long-term planning by New Kensington Community Development Corporation and strategic private and public investments. Nowhere is this more evident than on Frankford Avenue, where PIDC has supported local developer Roland Kassis to transform that corridor into a vibrant mix of retail, office space and restaurants, including Frankford Hall, an authentic German bier garten, which opened in 2011 and has quickly become a catalyst for additional development.
After Frankford Hall, PIDC worked with Kassis on the next phase of development to bring a Brooklyn BBQ to Philadelphia with Fette Sau. And just up the avenue, PIDC helped the Lutheran Settlement House, a non-profit social services organization, expand their historic Kensington location. The growth of this corridor has impacted the surrounding blocks and redeveloped former factory spaces with the expansion of PrintFresh, creators of unique textile designs, and the development of Oxford Mills, affordable housing for teachers and office space for education non-profits.
PIDC remains dedicated to restoring urban areas and igniting life all over the city. Projects like those in Kensington, Fishtown and Midtown Village remove blight, create jobs, and boost the economy while helping Philadelphia reinvent its commercial corridors.
Philadelphia is home to more than 265 commercial corridors that drive the local economy. PIDC works with developers in every neighborhood across the city to transition vacant and underutilized properties to attract investment, serve the needs of residents and expand activity along business corridors.
In Midtown Village, the revitalization of 13th Street and its surrounding area has injected a new surge of activity into one of Center City's most colorful commercial corridors. For years, this rundown strip served as a no man's land in the midst of a resurgent Center City, but now once again, residents, tourists, theatre goers and shoppers of all ages flock to 13th Street to soak up the chic retail and restaurant scene.
The 13th Street redevelopment project started in the late 1990s, when New York based developer Tony Goldman approached the City with the idea of designing a downtown retail business community built for long-term growth. Goldman's vision involved crafting an innovative blueprint that would take advantage of the area's central location to the arts, business, and hip, urban culture. PIDC and the City kickstarted Goldman's development ten years ago by structuring a Tax Increment Financing loan, and over the following decade, teamed up with the developer and individual businesses to provide financing for many of 13th Street's notable (and delicious) tenants, such as Capogiro and Philly Cupcake.
PIDC brings its more than 50 years of experience in structuring public private transactions to planning and developing workplaces for the future. PIDC put these skills to work to support Dietz & Watson, a family owned and operated Philadelphia institution now in its fourth generation. After a fire destroyed the company's New Jersey distribution center, Dietz & Watson needed help to recover and realize the family's dream to consolidate and expand their 75 year old headquarters in the Tacony section of Philadelphia.
Bringing together the partners necessary to facilitate this expansion, PIDC orchestrated a real estate transaction that assembled 77 acres of land from multiple public and private sources. The new land allowed PIDC to sell Dietz & Watson 20 acres to nearly double its footprint and construct a state-of-the-art food campus that will efficiently bring together their corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility with a new distribution center. The transaction also created a 30 acre development site ready to house growing industrial companies and extend waterfront recreation along the banks of the Delaware River.
Whether your next phase of business growth includes land transactions, restoring existing sites or developing brand new construction, PIDC can help you with the real estate resources needed to succeed.
The Navy Yard is a modern, sustainable urban campus that arose from the ashes of the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. PIDC is the master developer for The Navy Yard, where more than $1 billion has been invested creating a vibrant waterfront home for over 11,000 employees and more than 145 companies in the office, manufacturing, and research and development sectors, including Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Rhoads Industries, and GlaxoSmithKline.
RevZilla worked with PIDC and its development partners Liberty Property Trust/Synterra L.P. to relocate its office, showroom, and warehouse to a new, state-of-the-art headquarters at The Navy Yard Commerce Center. After just a year, RevZilla expanded again, renovating a 65,000 square foot warehouse and fulfillment center and adding 60 new workers to a staff of more than 100 – impressive growth for a company that started in an Old City living room in 2007.
PIDC works to attract all types of federal, state and private resources to invest in Philadelphia's underserved communities. In 2012, PIDC was certified as a CDFI to help do just that. PIDC has successfully competed for and invested over $110 million in New Markets Tax Credits to spur investment and fund development projects that energize neighborhoods, create jobs, and eliminate blight in the areas that need it most.
In South Kensington, one development that's inspiring change is Oxford Mills, a $38 million mixed use project that transformed an abandoned factory into affordable living space for teachers and office space for educational non-profit organizations. The fully renovated building now houses offices for Teach for America, a national teacher corps of recent college graduates who strive to effect change in under-resourced areas.
"The project financing was very complex," said Greg Hill, Founder of D3 Developers, who developed the Oxford Mills project in partnership with Seawall Development Corporation.
Funded in part by an allocation of New Markets Tax Credits from PIDC, Oxford Mills generated 200 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs, created a vibrant culture where educators can collaborate and thrive, and built an economic anchor for the neighborhood.
All across the city, PIDC is investing in projects with transformational impact, using New Markets Tax Credits to breathe new life into underserved, low-income communities.
PIDC provides financing for priority developments in every corner of the city, supplying the critical resources to complete the capital stack for anchor projects. With access to capital resources not available to traditional banks, PIDC is able to take greater risk and offer flexible terms and innovative products for projects that help launch the transformation of neighborhoods.
PIDC's guidance and financing have allowed Phyllis and her staff to continue providing health care services for local families, while ramping up their ability to see more patients. The state-of-the-art primary care health facility – funded through loans, grants, and tax credits structured by PIDC – has allowed Spectrum to double its patient visits, hire additional staff, and inject a sense of pride into the community.
PIDC's role in filling funding gaps for these kinds of projects can transform a whole area, creating jobs, revitalizing neighborhoods, and delivering important goods and services to the community.
Philadelphia business owners are known for rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. John Pomp is a perfect example. Glassblower and founder of John Pomp Studios, John is an artisanal manufacturer of handblown glass fixtures. One trip through his fiery furnaces is proof – this artist, manufacturer, and entrepreneur means business.
John was able to use a PIDC Capital Project Loan, along with commercial bank financing, to purchase, and renovate 10,000 square feet in the building next door to his studio. When businesses and nonprofits undertaking capital projects find that traditional financing is not fully able to meet their needs, PIDC can help to close the funding gap. From building acquisition and renovation to leasehold improvements or equipment purchases, PIDC loans allow companies to complete the projects that grow their businesses.
Throughout the city – for all types of business and nonprofits – when goals are in reach, PIDC fills the gap.