Ceremonial Groundbreaking Held For Project Nearly 4 Decades In The Making
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It was a ceremonial groundbreaking today for a project on North Broad Street in Philadelphia that has been nearly 40 years in the making.
Two groups became partners to make it happen.
Parkway Corporation in Philadelphia bought the land fronting North Broad, a few blocks from City Hall, back in the late 1970s hoping to develop it into something more than a parking lot.
But Parkway's president Robert Zuritsky says it took a Houston-based partner, the Hanover Company, looking for opportunities in Philadelphia to join with his organization to finally come up with.
"Three-hundred and fifty apartment units here with a lot of retail."
Zaritsky says a 10-year-tax abatement from the city helped to seal the deal.
Mayor Jim Kenney, who took part in the groundbreaking for the six-story unit, says projects like this send a message about jobs and the economy.
"The more tower cranes and the construction activity you see going, it means how healthy our city is and it will help us attack the 26 percent poverty rate that we're facing in our town."
