Walnut Hill Community Playground (Archived photo/Selah Lynch).

Here’s some great news for Walnut Hill Community Playground users. The public playground, located at 47th and Sansom, will be rehabilitated thanks to a $75,000 grant from the Target Foundation, according to a recent announcement by University City District (UCD). The funds, secured through UCD’s new Community Playground Revitalization Program, will be used by members of UCD’s Green City Works landscaping social enterprise to perform general improvements to the playground.

Improvements to the park, which dates back to the 1970s, with the current version built in 2009, will be made based on community feedback. The goal is to “make it safer and more welcoming for neighbors and other users,” according to the announcement.

The playground is dedicated to Alice Jones, a community leader who dedicated her life to her neighborhood. Her grandson, Shuja Moore, who is determined to carry on her legacy of positive community change, has been instrumental in spearheading the idea to revitalize the playground.

More details on this project are coming soon.

The Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll is coming back again this year! University City District (UCD), the longtime event organizer, has scheduled two Strolls this summer – on Thursday, June 6 and Thursday, Sept. 5.

The event draws thousands of neighbors and visitors to enjoy dollar deals from participating local businesses and community vendors. In 2022, the price levels vendors can offer were expanded from $1 deals to deals for $1, $3, or $5.

Currently, UCD is accepting applications from both community food vendors and community merchandise vendors to join in this event as official participants. If you are a community vendor interested in selling either food or merchandise, please email Margaret Leidy Starke, Senior Manager of Events and Community Partnerships, at margaret@universitycity.org. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.

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Over the years, University City District (UCD) has provided important services and organized many community events and activities in the neighborhood (Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll, Movies in Clark Park, etc.). Many residents have used such services as walking escorts, vehicle jumpstarts and lock-out assistance. UCD has also organized neighborhood cleaning events and regularly removes trash from the district trash cans. It has also supported local businesses through various events and initiatives/fundraising and has been involved with public space maintenance/activation, workforce development training programs, and more.

To better understand where they are performing well and where they might improve, UCD has launched a public survey.

Those who complete this survey and provide contact information, will be eligible to win one of five $100 gift cards to a University City restaurant. Winners will be chosen after the survey closes in April of 2024 and alerted via email.

The survey can be accessed via this link.

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University City District (UCD) is offering up to $5,000 grants to small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A $250,000 emergency grant program, launched by UCD on Wednesday thanks to a donation from the University of Pennsylvania, will help independent retailers and restaurants that operate in its coverage area.

The fund makes available grants ranging between $1,000 and $5,000 per qualifying business.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our neighborhood and are essential to its vivacity,” said UCD President Matt Bergheiser. “Our business owners and their employees have always been here to support this community, and we are honored to be present for them in a time of distress.”  Continue Reading

Councilwoman-elect Jamie Gauthier speaking at the “State of University City” event on Wednesday (Photo courtesy of University City District).

City Councilwoman-elect Jamie Gauthier told University City District supporters, staff and board during a speech at the organization’s annual “State of University City” event that she hopes the economic success in the area around the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital and Drexel University reaches into struggling neighborhoods as well.

“As more cranes go up in this area,” she said to the crowd of developers, donors and supporters of the University City District. “I hope our residents farther out can participate in that growth.”  Continue Reading

As package deliveries pick up during the holidays, so do package thefts. University City District has sent out an alert in its monthly Crime Update about an increase of package thefts from porches in November and December. The newsletter also includes these tips on how to prevent package thefts:

• Avoid leaving unattended packages on stoops or porches.
• If possible, have packages sent to a workplace or other secure location.
• If you’re shipping items using Amazon, take advantage of one of the Amazon locker locations in the area.

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