What We're Reading: Week of October 4, 2021

Here's what we're reading this week about the projects, people and policies driving local development:

Billy Penn: The City of Philadelphia has disbursed $188 million in rental assistance through the CARES Act, and is working to get additional funding for the thousands of renters in the pipeline, as allocated funding is 90% disbursed; this story includes a link to the City’s dashboard tracking the use of funds, assisting over 32,000 tenants to date of the almost 64,000 applications

by Jason N. Peters, October 5, 2021

Inquirer: More than two decades later, Philadelphia is still limited in its ability to repurpose vacant and blighted properties as a result of the tax lien sale enacted in the late 1990s

by Samantha Melamed, October 6, 2021

Post-Gazette: The PA Liquor Control Board awarded $2mm in grants to promote wine and beer cultivation and sales across the Commonwealth, with multiple grants for research at Penn State and support for small breweries and wineries

by Bob Batz, Jr., October 6, 2021

Philadelphia Business Journal: Local branch bank closures provide opportunities to enliven some locations, while posing challenges for reuse in other locations

by Natalie Kostelni, October 6, 2021

U.S. News and World Report ranked 7 Pennsylvania cities among the 25 Best Places to Retire in the US, including Philadelphia at #19

by U.S. News & World Report, October 2021

Inquirer: The Department of L&I will be demolishing the bankrupt row of half-completed luxury houses along the south side of Penn Treaty Park, on the Delaware River waterfront

by Inga Saffron, October 20, 2021

Plan Philly: Philadelphia is about to roll out an awaited force of civilian traffic enforcement officers

by Ryan Briggs, October 18, 2021