ParkWest Town Center - Philadelphia, PA
METROVENTURES was selected by the West Philadelphia Empowerment
Zone (WPEZ) to provide development consulting services to West Philadelphia
Financial Services Institution (WPFSI) for the development of a 10-acre
neighborhood supermarket-anchored shopping center.
 METROVENTURES'
responsibilities included a detailed retail analysis of the 52nd Street
commercial corridor to determine the level of sales leakage that was occurring,
and to establish the level of market support available for additional
retail development. As a part of this assignment, METROVENTURES also assisted
WPFSI with acquisition and site control issues, building community consensus,
marketing and leasing, evaluation of developer submissions, and development
and maintaining relationships with interested retailers. Specifically,
METROVENTURES was responsible for securing Letters of Interest that accounted
for approximately 50,000-square-feet of the shopping center's leasable
space. METROVENTURES' responsibilities also included reviewing, summarizing
and evaluating proposals submitted by potential developers and acting
as the development representative of WPFSI in its negotiations with the
chosen development partner in order to ensure an equitable transaction
structure.
During the planning phase of the assignment, METROVENTURES
worked closely with the Community Trust Board (CTB) and the Shopping Center
Committee in obtaining consensus for the proposed development. This included
attendance and presentations at several Town Hall and community meetings.
METROVENTURES also developed a Minority Tenant Program on behalf of WPFSI
to ensure that a high level of local small minority entrepreneurs' presence
was achieved in the Center. A Minority Business Enterprise Contracting
Plan was developed to ensure significant participation of MBE and WBE
businesses in the construction phase of the proejct.
As an Empowerment Zone sponsored project, ParkWest Town
Center will participate in job training and job linkage programs designed
to facilitate the employment of local residents.
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