The City Avenue Special Services District represents a unique partnership between the City of Philadelphia and the Township of Lower Merion and between the public and private sectors. Covering parts of both Philadelphia and Lower Merion Pennsylvania, the District is the first multi-jurisdictional special services or business improvement district from among over 1,200 districts in North America.
Elected officials, Pennsylvania State Representative Lita I. Cohen, Lower Merion Commissioner Jim Ettelson, Lower Merion Commissioner Joseph Manko, and Philadelphia City Councilman Michael Nutter developed the original concept for the City Avenue Special Services District during the early 1990s. The elected officials worked with property owners, institutional leaders and business leaders in the area to shape the District concept and gather their support. Three key goals in the development of the District were to reduce crime in the City Avenue area; help better shape the direction of development; and to improve the image of the City Avenue area.
Following the development of a five-year plan, the City Avenue Special Services District was created by ordinances by the City of Philadelphia and the Township of Lower Merion in late 1996. The District was incorporated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in mid 1997. The five-year plan, budget and boundaries of the District where approved by ordinances by the City of Philadelphia and the Township of Lower Merion in late 1998. The District commenced operations during mid-1999.
The District has been successful in its operations and was awarded a special recognition award from the Pennsylvania Planning Association in 1999 for a Special Community Initiative and a 2001 Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence for building community partnerships.
The District has also worked to bring additional resources to the area in terms of government and foundation grants and additional services. Today, the District is working to expand its programming. |
