Temple hopes for neighborhood renewal

Temple Health System is moving its administrative folks out of Center City and up to N. Broad (on the East Falls/North Philly border) just west of its other hospital complex. In part this will make more room for medical purposes in the downtown facilities, but Temple also hopes that by spending its money and creating jobs "in its own backyard," it may help to spark renewal in this downtrodden neighborhood.

Several sites were under serious consideration, including two in Center City: 1500 Spring Garden St. and 901 Market St. In the end, Marshall said, "we decided that the really responsible thing to do was spend our money in our own community."

Using as a model what the University of Pennsylvania has done to improve West Philadelphia, Marshall hopes to stimulate growth in the mile-long corridor between the hospitals and the Budd complex.

"We create a lot of really good middle-class jobs," Marshall said. As Penn has done, he hopes to find ways to encourage many of these health-care workers to move into the neighborhood and help rebuild it.

Good for them! I hope it works.

(via America's Hometown)