November 9: 1984, historic tax credit | Schuylkill Yards breaks ground | Maintaining markers

It’s happening: Schuylkill Yards breaks ground with Drexel Square. The Philadelphia Business Journal’s Craig Ey covers what Mayor Kenney, Drexel’s John Fry, and the Enterprise Center’s Della Clark had to say about the project’s political and business collaboration leading up to the momentous ceremony. Plus, photo slide show!

Voters approved new rules for property taxes Tuesday, now what? City and State PA’s Ryan Briggs tells us how this affects homeowners on a fixed income and renters on NewsWorks Tonight.

On Olney Rec: Billy Penn goes into the specs, programmatic offerings, and needs of the North Philadelphia rec center, one of the facilities on the preliminary list of sites for the first round of Rebuild. Earlier this week, Malcolm Burnley looked into the position and potential of rec centers as part of Philly’s civic infrastructure.

Developer Carl Dranoff traces the beginning of Philadelphia’s recovery to 1984, when Reagan introduced the federal Historic Tax Credit, Inga Saffron writes. Now the GOP is trying to kill the provision that incentivizes cities to preserve and restore derelict buildings. Saffron explains how the preservation tax credit differs from the 10-year tax abatement and argues that eliminating the tax credit would kill the revival of main streets nationwide.

Speaking of reviving former industrial spaces, Naked Philly looks at the recent action 1525 N. American Street, the site of a long gone candy factory now slated for apartments and ground floor retail.

Visual field trip! The Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Office shows us how the state maintains and refurbishes damaged historical markers.

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