Sharswood Neighborhood Projects

• Storefront Improvements - The program, a partnership with the City of Philadelphia Commerce Department, will cover the cost of eligible improvements to a maximum of $20,000 for a single commercial property, or up to $30,000 for a multiple-address or corner business property.

• A study will be conducted to determine the needs of the Ridge and Cecil B Moore corridors. It will work to improve the corridor through street lighting, roadway design - promoting safety and the pedestrian realm, and additional physical features such as bus shelters, banners, and street furniture.
• The Streetscape Plan should include, but will not be limited to:
  • Assessment of prior studies and community input
  • Analysis of traffic, parking, loading needs and patterns
  • Analysis of existing street and plaza functionality
  • Development of street reconfiguration alternatives
  • Development of a new streetscape and plaza design using sustainable design theories and practices
  • Development of a parking strategy
  • Summary of street reconfiguration alternatives with cost estimates and traffic implications associated with these scenarios
  • Completion of construction and project specification documents consistent with the preferred alternative

• The intent of the Sharswood Homeowner Repair Program is to empower long-term residents to remain in the community, build family assets, and enjoy amenities and services as the neighborhood continues to develop.
• This program will be available to homeowners who occupy the home for which they apply and must have an income at or below 80% AMI to qualify.
• Habitat will begin with outreach to homeowners within 100 feet of a housing development and promote the program through mailers, door-to-door outreach, their existing mailing list, and programs on impacted blocks. Homes that are on blocks that are directly adjacent to new construction will receive additional in-person outreach and preference due to their proximity to Choice development. Homes beyond 100 feet of a PHA Sharswood development will be eligible after closer home interest is exhausted.
• Focused implementation of the Basic Systems Repair Program: Applications from homeowners in the project area will be prioritized. Eligible applicants must own and live in a single-family home, not own any other residential property, meet income guidelines (for a family of four, the maximum household income is $63,250), and be current or under a payment agreement for property taxes and water bills. The program provides free repairs to correct electrical, plumbing, heating, limited structural and carpentry, and roofing emergencies. The average cost of repairs per home is $10,000.

• The North Philly Peace Park on the 2200 block of Jefferson Street will be expanded and enhanced to further meet the needs of the community.
• The plan for this Sharswood Community Park includes significant investment into new structures, play areas, urban gardening, and more.
• The Choice Neighborhoods funding will serve as the initial early implementation into the project while more future work will be planned and additional funding will be sourced.

The Library building is setback from the street, it creates a terrace used for outdoor seating and shade. Both sides of the terrace are enclosed by three-story walls, the bottom half of which is bricked in a pattern that matches the façade of the library, the top half is unfinished masonry. The upper levels of these walls will be painted as a pair of murals that improve the experience of using the library terrace and convey a civic purpose to the library building. These upper-level murals would be visible to people passing by on Cecil B. Moore. Murals in this location could continue exploration of Sharswood’s role in the twentieth century civil rights movement, honoring the namesake of the library. They could also help reimagine the terrace as a safe, creative space.

The intersection of Ridge & Cecil B. Moore Ave is a commercial hub. Heading southbound on Ridge into Sharswood, 2 walls at this intersection offer an opportunity for a gateway project. One is a 2nd-story wall at 2223 Ridge, the other is a 2nd-story wall at 2248 Ridge. Both walls face the intersection, in both situations murals would be installed on the 2nd story of the buildings.

The Vaux Community Resource Center, home to Big Picture High School, sits on a prominent block. Conversations with students led to the idea of a mural at the corner of 23rd and Master Streets, which will not be built on. Potential mural themes raised by the students — influential people who the students could look up to as role models, or how introspection and safe spaces are linked in ways that contribute to the students’ sense of creative agency. These themes would be explored further in a comprehensive process that involves residents and the BPHS students.

This mural honors artist Henry Ossawa Tanner, who lived in the area and became the first Black American painter to gain international acclaim in the late 1800s. Painted by Keir Johnston in 2012, it's a well-loved mural in the community, evidenced by the number of people who have come out to talk about it to us during our site visits. The edges of the wall on which it was painted are deteriorating, though the building on which it is painted has recently been renovated. There's a small City-owned lot between that building and Seybert St, which would be secured as an open space. The mural will be restored and the lot re-landscaped with low-rising native plants.

This historic park is the location of the first inter-racial baseball game ever played (1869) and later as the original field where the Philadelphia Athletics played. The facility includes a recreation center, basketball courts, swimming pool and ball fields. The park/recreation center are eligible for upgrading through Rebuild Philadelphia. Community members who initially identified this opportunity, felt strongly that this should be the location of a youth-involved project; after discussion they arrived at the basketball court as a viable opportunity. The 2 basketball courts were once painted through a project supported by the 76ers, now are in need of repainting, the backboards are in need of repair. Improvements could be made in a way that involves the youth of the neighborhood who already use the park. This proposal includes a new mural for the basketball courts in a project supported by Rebuild. It is to be determined whether the courts need to be resurfaced prior to serving as a canvas for public art, Rebuild will lead that process.

The large amount of new construction in Sharswood will also be accompanied by the pouring of many linear feet of new sidewalks, which present an opportunity: These sidewalks can become part of the community’s narrative by incorporating poetry into the surface.

The poems could be curated as a collection, with selections invited from numerous contributors. The poems could reflect the story that people in Sharswood now would like to see about themselves and present to the future. Each poem would be stamped into numerous sidewalks, new poems could be commissioned from time to time to extend the story.

Sidewalk poetry can be installed very easily. It can be embossed in concrete pours with a simple stamp, the way the contractor marks are commonly embossed in sidewalks. This approach does not impact the process of pouring a sidewalk square (the embossing occurs after the concrete surface has been smoothed) or the integrity of the sidewalk once it cures. The approach is flexible, poems could be stamped wherever and whenever sidewalks are being poured and the future owner gives permission.