Frankford Ave Storefronts Get $2M Boost
Frankford Avenue is getting a fresh look, and the city is putting $2 million behind it.
The Department of Commerce announced November 6 that its Targeted Storefront Improvement Program is expanding citywide, with new funding through Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s Jumpstart Initiative. The program pays up to 100 percent of eligible storefront improvement costs along select commercial corridors, covering new signs, exterior windows, doors, lighting, and painting.
The expansion follows a pilot that already reached Frankford Avenue. The city partnered with the Frankford Community Development Corporation on the pilot, and five Frankford Avenue businesses got storefront improvements meant to boost customer traffic and add to ongoing revitalization efforts. The release shows three of those businesses: C&L Variety Plaza at 4640 Frankford Ave., Thiouna’s Hair Braiding at 4660, and Dollar Bazar at 4730.
A second pilot ran on Woodland Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia, where 12 businesses got new signage, lighting, facade repairs, and accessibility upgrades. That work was done with the African Cultural Alliance of North America, with matching funds from the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Between the two pilots, 17 businesses got new storefronts.
On Woodland Avenue, the new storefronts sit alongside public art, including the murals African Market Day and The Mother. The city says the murals and the improved storefronts together make a more welcoming corridor that reflects the community’s cultural identity. The same idea sits behind the Frankford work, where the city says the goal is corridors that feel brighter, cleaner, and more welcoming for residents and visitors alike.
The city says the pilots worked well enough to justify the bigger investment. The $2 million will fund more than 50 planned storefront projects, carried out with help from 10 community based organizations the Commerce Department has now selected. Those groups will find the businesses on the corridors they serve that would benefit from improvements and coordinate the next steps, while the city provides the money and hands on help with project management, outreach, design, and construction.
For the business owners, the pitch is straightforward. A new sign and better lighting make a shop easier to spot. A repaired facade and a working door make it easier to walk into. The city also says the program helps with permitting and compliance, which is often the part that slows a small business down.
The organizations selected for the first round work across the city, from ACANA and the Allegheny West Foundation to Esperanza, the Olney Community Collaborative, and the United Merchants of the South 9th Street Business Association. The interest form for this round is closed, and the city says future opportunities will be announced as more funding becomes available. Any organization in Philadelphia that works with business owners or supports a commercial corridor can apply in a future round.
The program will keep expanding into more City Council districts, the city says, applying what it learned from the pilots. For Frankford Avenue, the work already done is the model. Five storefronts got a new look, and the city is now betting the same approach will work on corridors across Philadelphia.
Businesses in eligible areas can also apply through the city’s general Storefront Improvement Program. Questions about the targeted program go to TSIP@phila.gov.
