[3rd&Brown]

Totally different (upbeat/optimistic) topic.

I've been spending a lot of time in NoLibs the past couple of weeks because my tenant moved out of my property there and I've been doing work on the house to turn it over.

1. The density in NoLibs is crazy right now and coming to a crescendo. All of the Post Brothers stuff, Callowhill, 6th & Fairmount, the waterfront (Sprouts Market Development, Durst building etc). Like there is crazy crazy activity. Coming back and forth for that short bit on 95 and NoLibs legit has it's own skyline. It's really really impressive.

2. It's clean and tidy. The BID there is really paying dividends. 2nd Street (though it needs street scape improvements) is pretty much spotless. That cleanliless has extended into the neighborhood. Whereas I felt in the past keeping up with the trash in my little block of the neighborhood was relentless, it's now a quick pass after trash day and a 5 minute exercise once a week to pick up odds and ends of trash. (Windy days excepted with our stupid lidless recycling bins).

My only gripe is the lack of retail and even nicer/trendy restaurants. Fishtown is really punching above its weight thanks mostly to Roland Cassis and his crew, but it does seem to be unfairly penalizing NoLibs in its ascent.

I don't know what the income data is in NoLibs today but it's gotta be off the charts. The demographics have to be crazy good for retailers and for the life of me I can't figure out why there isn't more.

My last gripe is the neighborhood school. For an urban neighborhood with household income at or above $100K, and chock full of really large family homes, you would think Kearny would be a better school. I actually attribute it's lack of traction to the fact that NoLibs is actually split up between THREE neighborhood catchments (below Poplar is Kearny, above Poplar is Ludlow (in South Kensington), and the far northeast corner near the El is actually Adaire in Fishtown)...and that lack of one zoned school for the entire community has affected buy in by neighborhood parents. IMO it's critical for the success of Kearny for its boundary to be redrawn to essentially align with the whole of Northern Liberties (waterfront to 6th (or 8th), Spring Garden to Girard.

It's not that complicated.