On Wednesday October 30^th ULI Philadelphia hosted a walking tour of the Cedar Park neighborhood that focused on the Baltimore and 52nd commercial corridors.  The tour began at the new Post Brothers building, The Irvine, at 780 S 52^nd Street. The development team gave a quick tour of the common spaces and explained how they derived the name, The Irvine, after being inspired by Irvine, California and the great adaptive reuse projects that have happened there.

From here the tour split into two groups, one group was led by Ryan Spak, Founder/Principal of the SpakGroup and Mahari Bailey, Owner of Mahari Yared Development Company, both local developers who live and work in the neighborhood. The other tour was led by Rich Olaya, Principal of Olaya Studio and Algernong Allen, Owner of Al Allen Real Estate.  Stops along the tour routes included the following:

• Mariposa Food Co-op, a locally owned grocer
• O Z Collaborative’s new headquarters
• The Calvary United Methodist Church that serves as a community hub for theater, music and cultural programming
• A new inclusionary housing project at 51^st and Baltimore financed by PIDC
• Green’s Grow West, a successful community garden
• The SpakGroup’s main office and apartment developments
• Some of Mahari’s signature green-doored developments along 52^nd Street

The two groups met back up at the Dock Street Cannery to enjoy some great local beers and networking. The Cedar Hill neighborhood is thriving from investments by members of the community who are engaged in its change and continues to position itself as an inclusive neighborhood.  ULI Philadelphia would like to thank all the speakers who led the tours, the NEXT Council members for organizing the event and our event sponsor O Z Collaborative.