Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

A business improvement district for North Broad Street has finally been approved. Here’s what you need to know

The BID will bring improvements to the corridor such as better signage and more frequent cleaning. The costs will be passed on to business owners, renters, and customers.

The Met Philadelphia (right) on the 800 block and the Divine Lorraine Hotel in the 600 block of North Broad Street are part of the Business Improvement District that North Broad Renaissance will be administering after City Council approved it recently.
The Met Philadelphia (right) on the 800 block and the Divine Lorraine Hotel in the 600 block of North Broad Street are part of the Business Improvement District that North Broad Renaissance will be administering after City Council approved it recently.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
    by Nate File
    Published 

After years of planning, a business improvement district (BID) for North Broad Street was finally approved by City Council last month.

Beginning in January 2024, property owners on Broad Street between Spring Garden and West Indiana Avenue will be required to pay an annual fee based on the property’s assessed value in exchange for improvements and maintenance to the once-thriving business corridor.

Even though the BID requires city approval, it will be administered by North Broad Renaissance (NBR). NBR, a nonprofit, has already been leading cleanup, promotion, and other initiatives along North Broad associated with a BID, but it hopes that the BID brings a more sustainable source of funding for its efforts.

Shalimar Thomas, NBR’s executive director, said that her organization, as well as property and business owners along North Broad, noticed other BIDs popping up over the city in recent years, and believed that something similar could work for their stretch of North Philly.

» READ MORE: One end of North Broad thrives; the other struggles. Can a revitalization plan bring them together?

“It just puts them at an advantage,” Thomas said of other districts. “And so how do we keep up and make sure that we can [be on] that same playing ground and that same advantage?” she recalls discussing with others.

Ruben Lacroix, the owner of Barbers of Broad, had to move his shop a couple of blocks north a few years ago, after the building was sold. “Every business that used to be next to me has either moved or [has gone] out of business,” he said.

Lacroix believes a BID could help save other small businesses like his. “Anything that can bring some type of change is gonna help the businesses that are here. [And that way] we can thrive and we can be able to provide for our families and our community,” he said.

“I feel like a lot of times, we don’t necessarily get any help [from the city].”

But while Thomas and North Broad Renaissance have worked diligently to develop the BID, there has been something of a disconnect with some of the business owners on North Broad. A number of them are still unaware that the BID is coming and how it will affect them, and said they wish they were consulted on it. Others are wary of the fees involved, which the property owners are likely to exact from them with increased rent.

“I don’t know really how any organization can improve the business prospects [of North Broad],” said Sai Vuyyuru, the owner of Cure Discount Pharmacy, who said he has yet to hear from NBR about the business improvement district.

“I’m really clueless what they’re going to try to do,” he said.

Here’s what business owners, North Broad community members, and anyone else affected by the BID should know:

  1. Fees are determined by assessed value: Property owners are obligated to pay an annual fee to fund the BID, which depends on an assessment of the property’s market value. NBR anticipates raising $816,000 in the first year of the BID while it covers 256 properties, but also expects nearly $100,000 of nonpayment. The median payment for these properties would be assessed at around $400, because some properties will have higher values, but the average assessment would be about $3,200 per year.

  2. Commercial property owners pay the levy but can pass the costs on to customers, renters, or business owners, meaning consumers may have to pay more for goods, or rents could get more expensive.

  3. Private residential properties and nonprofits will NOT be assessed and are exempt from the BID, along with Temple University buildings on the corridor. Apartment buildings and other rental properties will be subject to the tax.

  4. Services already provided by the city will continue as normal, like trash collection and policing.

In a plan submitted to City Council, NBR outlined its expenses as follows:

  1. $198,000 for cleaning and public safety

  2. $86,000 for maintenance and greening

  3. $62,000 for marketing and communications

  4. $106,000 for business attraction, retention, and development

  5. $71,000 for capital improvements, such as banners and maintenance of the North Poles

  6. $195,000 for personnel and administration

» READ MORE: Are business improvement districts a force for good in cities like Philadelphia? Pro/Con

Business owners are split when it comes to covering the cost of the assessment. Some, like Vuyyuru, are wary, unsure how they can afford to pay more in rent when their budgets are already tight. But others, like Harry Hayman, chief operating officer of the SOUTH restaurant on North Broad and other restaurants in the city, believe the investment is worth it.

“Certainly, you gotta be realistic,” he said, acknowledging that the improvements will come at some cost. Still, Hayman is excited about what the BID can bring. “I’ve seen it work over the years,” he added.

“What’s the alternative?” Lacroix posited about a possible increase in his rent. “Rent is going up regardless.”

Silver Thomas, the owner of 5 Star Barbershop & Salon, supports the concept of the BID but said he hasn’t heard from NBR about it. “Before y’all make decisions of what y’all are going to do, communicate with everybody first,” he said. “Not with just some, but with everybody.”

“If I was there, I would sit around, pull all [the] businesses together, and [ask] how can we make this a hit, how can we make this work? I got a lot of ideas. I’m a very intelligent brother. I got a lot of ideas,” Thomas said.

He described how a lesser Philadelphia Parking Authority presence or a new high-end restaurant would help the businesses like his more than what NBR plans to do.

NBR’s Thomas asserted that the organization has done significant outreach regarding the BID in recent years, particularly ahead of public hearings and the objection period for affected property owners.

She said that NBR sent postcards and other informational mailings to businesses and other locations, even places that wouldn’t be directly affected by the BID. Thomas said that NBR also went door-to-door, attempting to speak with business owners about the district.

Nonetheless, she regretted that some business owners like Silver Thomas and Vuyyuru did not get the message.

“We’ll continue to outreach. We’ll continue to do this to the best of our abilities and we hope more people are accountable for receiving information and [looking] at the information and [reaching] out to us,” she said.

While Silver Thomas doesn’t fully agree with the approach, he is glad that the work to improve North Broad is occurring. “We need something new, we need something different here,” he said.

This story has been updated to show the correct title of Harry Hayman, COO of SOUTH.