The city is spending half a billion dollars on improving its civic assets

“Around the Corner” is a PhillyCAM show that offers local social impact leaders the opportunity to share what impact their work is having on the Philadelphia area. 

The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation is about to make some serious moves.

The department oversees 10,000 acres of park land in the city as well as 150 recreation centers, 70 pools and 55 libraries, according to Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell.

When she chatted with us on our “Around the Corner” show, Ott Lovell gave a succinct recap of the city’s Reimagining the Civic Commons Initiative, which we’ve reported on heavily in the past.

But the big news here is of “Rebuild,” the city’s large-scale project for improving its many civic assets.

It’s all part of Mayor Jim Kenney’s commitment to the city’s diverse neighborhoods, Ott Lovell said, and it’s going to cost half a billion — yes, billion — dollars over the next six to eight years, with a focus on “equity and leveraged investment.” Learn more below.

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