Mayoral candidates debate affordable housing and historic preservation

The proposal for a Roosevelt Boulevard extension of the Broad Street subway was the surprise star of Tuesday’s mayoral forum on development and construction, as candidates across the ideological spectrum embraced an idea that SEPTA has rejected.

“The Roosevelt Boulevard project I think is a really interesting one that could benefit a huge number of Philadelphia residents,” said Rebecca Rhynhart, the former city controller, when asked how she would marshal federal infrastructure funding from the Biden administration.

Former Councilmember and real estate magnate Allan Domb echoed her interest, as did all of the candidates (except grocer Jeff Brown) when asked to theoretically select between that project, a Navy Yard extension of the Broad Street line, or capping parts of I-676 and I-95.

The answer highlighted both a lack of dissension among the candidates — there was almost no visible conflict at the event — and the way that some new ideas have penetrated the often insular conventional wisdom of Philadelphia politics. (Those hoping for rent control will likely be disappointed, however. Former Councilmember Helen Gym was the only candidate who didn’t answer with an unequivocal negative when asked about the policy.)

The audience for Tuesday’s forum, organized by a coalition of real estate, architectural design, and historic preservation groups, filled much of the Kimmel Center’s over-600-seat Perelman Theater. Before the forum, six of the seven major candidates circulated among the assembled developers, architects, and lobbyists, sipping tepid coffee as snow swirled outside. Former Councilmember Cherelle L. Parker was not in attendance.

The candidates were given a chance to respond at length about their vision for affordable housing and historic preservation and quickly answer specific questions about issues ranging from remote work for municipal workers to the future of property tax abatements to incentivize development.

In the lightning round, the candidates were asked whether they supported the 2019 compromise that reduced by half the value of the 10-year property tax abatement on new residential construction. There seemed to be no appetite to revisit the issue, with the exception of a recent proposal to apply it to affordable housing. Former Councilmember Derek Green noted he would extend such a policy across the city, instead of having district Council members decide where and if to use it.

Domb noted that the abatement should also be revisited when it comes to finding new uses for converting commercial offices into residential buildings.

“It’s a tool that we need to start using again on office buildings from City Hall to 20th and JFK to Market, because those buildings are empty,” Domb said. “We just saw a deal fall out at 1701 Market. We need to figure out how to get that deal back on track.”

On the question of getting municipal workers back into offices — a frequent complaint among the city’s real estate industry — former Councilmember Maria Quiñones Sánchez, Brown, and Domb all said they would end expansive remote work policies for the city workforce.

“I’m for returning everyone to work 100% of the schedule,” Brown said. “In my business, no one currently works remotely. And why should anyone do it if we [the municipal government] don’t set the example?”

The only hints of conflict between the candidates emerged around Brown, who owns 12 Fresh Grocers and ShopRites in the region. He’s one of the front-runners, according to the few polls of the race (one of which he commissioned).

During a segment on housing affordability, Brown stated that councilmanic prerogative — the tradition that gives district Council members control of land use in their territory — is “killing us in this area. We should take away the prerogative for affordable housing.”

That brought a retort from Rhynhart: “There was a mention about councilmanic prerogative. That’s a practice; it’s not a law, so there’s no way to get rid of it.”

Instead, she said, as mayor, she would work with Council to advance her priorities, a move away from what critics described as Mayor Jim Kenney’s unwillingness to confront or negotiate with members to avoid the district-by-district lawmaking that has prevailed under City Council President Darrell L. Clarke.

Brown wasn’t alone in criticizing prerogative, which also manifests in district members being given precedence on bureaucratic matters in their territory. Domb said that the practice was at the root of much municipal gridlock and corruption, and said he would begin to address it on day one.

Brown also said the city should sell off all its vacant properties and “end the land bank,” an institution created by Quiñones Sánchez to bring all municipally owned land under one roof.

Many of the vacant parcels in the land bank are in areas that aren’t ripe for private-sector development, making them difficult to sell — although the land bank has come under much criticism for Council interference in sales and, relatedly, difficulties in moving parcels off the city’s books even in hot neighborhoods.

“As the author of the land bank, I’m the first to acknowledge that we are underutilizing this important tool,” said Quiñones Sánchez. “The tool is not only about managing land. It is the acquisition of delinquent land, which is the tool that we do not utilize effectively.”

The forum also touched on historic preservation, with many candidates agreeing that the city’s handsomely antiquated built environment is core to its identity and appeal — but that many lower-income and working-class Philadelphians need help maintaining rowhouses that mostly predate the Second World War.

Domb and Gym, who do not align on much, agreed that the city needed to actually pursue the recommendations of its Historic Preservation Task Force. This first-term Kenney administration initiative suggested that the city create an inventory of unprotected historic buildings and craft incentives to ensure that historically protected properties bring benefit and not just cost to owners.

“I’m interested in strengthening the Historical Commission and support expanded staffing to grow and reevaluate our historical districts,” Gym said.