Chris at UCD's blog

Local organizations throughout our neighborhood are offering events to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 20th. See below for a collection of celebrations and volunteer opportunities. Want more to do? Our community calendar has a comprehensive list of upcoming events. 

We are pleased to announce that we are the recipients of $895,000 in funds from the Connelly and William Penn Foundations. The funding will help to expand the reach of our West Philadelphia Sklils Initiative (WPSI) and support career growth and pathways out of intergenerational poverty, with a particular focus on Green City Works (GCW). GCW, a landscaping social venture which employs West Philadelphians, provides high quality design-build-maintenance landscaping services while transforming the way the industry trains, advances, and supports its workforce.

At our December 16th meeting of our Board of Trustees, the UCD board approved Angela Dowd-Burton as the new representative for Garden Court Community Association. Our board, composed of community, business, institutional, and non-profit leaders from within University City, underwrites our Clean and Safe program and provides much-needed operating support.

On Wednesday, December 4th, hundreds of guests attended our annual State of University City event at World Cafe Live.

We at University City District are thrilled to announce that Renata’s Kitchen will be the new operators at 3940 Baltimore Avenue, the restaurant space within Trolley Portal Gardens. Kate Steenstra and Yasser Aiq, the co-owners of Renata’s Kitchen, have been serving the neighborhood for six years, and will bring their beloved brunch service, catering, and eventually dinner and bar service to this new, larger location.

On Wednesday, December 4th, JP Morgan announced details of a $1.5 million grant to UCD to support the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, in collaboration with Temple University and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), as we partner to build a place-based network of employer-driven workforce programs in West, North, and South Philadelphia. Representatives from JP Morgan announced the funds to UCD staff and partners from Temple and PIDC this morning during the opening of a new branch of Chase Bank at 2815 Grays Ferry Avenue. 

While The HOW Group has only been a member for less than a year, its partnership with UCD is creating a pathway to the skilled trades for talented West Philadelphians, and illustrating the potential that our relationships with members have to evolve for the benefit of the neighborhood.

In nearly 30 years of real estate development and property management, AMC Delancey has become involved in all angles of the real estate field. Throughout their long history, they’ve invested in a wide range of asset classes – from hotels and golf courses, to land and industrial properties. Like many businesses, the 2009 financial collapse offered the company the opportunity to rethink its long-term strategy and reposition itself as a leader in multi-family apartments and multi-family mixed-use assets.

The winter holidays are alive in University City! We've collected some highlights from throughout the neighborhood of fun activities to celebrate. See our community calendar for a comprehensive list of neighborhood offerings and check out these highlights. 

On Thursday, November 14th, Citizens Bank announced a $125,000 investment in our nationally-recognized job training program, the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI), in support of our expansion efforts. Citizens Bank’s substantial investment in WPSI is one of the largest the bank has made in Philadelphia.