Can an entire neighborhood commercial corridor be uplifted if enough business owners freshen up their building facades? That’s the hope brewing along Torresdale Avenue in Tacony where a new facade improvement program is just taking off.

Back in June I took a walk on Torresdale Avenue with Tacony CDC Corridor Manager Alex Balloon as he was drumming up interest in the new facade improvement program, a joint venture of Tacony CDC and the Commerce Department. It turns out that a lot of business owners along Torresdale Avenue, from Robbins Street to Cottman Avenue, are interested in at least exploring how they might improve the look of their buildings and give the Avenue greater curb appeal. This year Tacony CDC developed design guidelines [pdf] with plain-language recommendations for improvements along the commercial corridor.

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