TABLE OF

CONTENTS

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..............................................................................................................................................1
I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................13
A. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT................................................................................................................................................................15
B. ROLE OF ESPERANZA, COMMUNITY AND CONSULTANT TEAM.....................................................................................................................18
C. PLANNING PROCESS............................................................................................................................................................................19
D. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...........................................................................................................................................................................22

II. OVERVIEW OF EXISTING CONDITIONS.............................................................................................25

A. HISTORY AND CONTEXT......................................................................................................................................................................26

B. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES DRIVING THE PLAN............................................................................................................................29
C. COMMUNITY AT-A-GLANCE...................................................................................................................................................................30

III. RECOMMENDATIONS, RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AND TIMELINES........41

ONE BUILD ON HUNTING PARKS COMMUNITY PRIDE AND SPIRIT..............................................................................................................43

TWO ENHANCE COMMUNICATIONS, SERVICE DELIVERY, AND ACCESS .........................................................................................................48
THREE ADVANCE EDUCATION ECOLOGY AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOL.........................................................................................................52
FOUR REINFORCE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND MODEL BLOCK DEVELOPMENT...............................................................................................56
FIVE PROMOTE ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.......................................................................................................................64
SIX REINVEST THROUGH CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ...............................................................................................................................76
SEVEN PROTECT AND ENHANCE OPEN SPACE AND THE ENVIRONMENT...........................................................................................................94

IV. ACTION PLAN.......................................................................................................................................................105

A. ESPERANZA AND HUNTING PARK COLLABORATIVE ROLES........................................................................................................................106

B. IMPLEMENTATION BUDGET.................................................................................................................................................................108
C. IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE...............................................................................................................................................................111

V. APPENDIX.................................................................................................................................................................113

1 RESIDENT PERCEPTION SURVEY..........................................................................................................................................................115

2 EXISTING CONDITIONS DATA...............................................................................................................................................................121
3 SUMMARY OF STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY MEETINGS.......................................................................................................................155

LIST OF FIGURES

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

Fig. 1
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Fig. 35
Fig. 36

Planning area and context..........................................................................................................14

Distribution of resident surveys.................................................................................................21
Distribution of Hispanic population in Philadelphia.........................................................30, 122
Population change, 1990-2010.........................................................................................31, 122
Race and ethnicity, 1990-2010.......................................................................................31, 122
Age distribution by sex, 2010..........................................................................................31, 122
School catchment map.....................................................................................................32, 132
Employment by industry...................................................................................................33, 125
Land use map.....................................................................................................................34, 127
Building conditions scale....................................................................................................36, 140
Building conditions map...................................................................................................37, 141
Commute to work (estimated).........................................................................................38, 151
Street network map...........................................................................................................39, 148
Community survey: resident profile...........................................................................................43
Community survey: community ratings....................................................................................43
Crimes against people 2010: Philadelphia and Hunting Park.............................................44
Crimes against property 2010: Philadelphia and Hunting Park..........................................45
Institutions and community service providers..............................................................49, 132
Esperanza high school graduation rates........................................................................53, 124
Esperanza post graduate profile......................................................................................53, 124
Education Road map..................................................................................................................55
Building conditions......................................................................................................................56
Housing tenure and occupancy, 1990-2010.................................................................56, 125
Block conditions map.................................................................................................................57
Model blocks map.......................................................................................................................61
Major employers map.......................................................................................................65, 133
Number of businesses by type..................................................................................................66
Commercial corridors.................................................................................................................67
Crimes against people, 2010...........................................................................................69, 152
5th Street fencing improvements..............................................................................................72
Residential and industrial buffers.............................................................................................73
Downzoning opportunities..........................................................................................................75
Truck traffic...................................................................................................................................77
Existing cross-section of 5th Street...........................................................................................80
Proposed cross-section of 5th Street with striped median and left turn lane...................81
Proposed cross-section of 5th Street with bike lane.............................................................82

Fig. 37 Proposed cross-section of 5th Street with bike lane and floating parking lane................83
Fig. 38 Existing cross-section of Hunting Park Avenue.......................................................................85
Fig. 39 Proposed cross-section of Hunting Park Avenue with landscaped median.......................86
Fig. 40 Proposed redesign of Hunting Park Avenue with landscaped median...............................87
Fig. 41 Proposed cross-section of Hunting Park Avenue with extended planting strips...............88
Fig. 42 Proposed redesign of Hunting Park Avenue with extended planting strips........................89
Fig. 43 Proposed gateway at Hunting Park Avenue and 5th Street..................................................90
Fig. 44 Pedestrian improvements..........................................................................................................91
Fig. 45 Access to open space........................................................................................................95, 147
Fig. 46 Tree cover............................................................................................................................97, 144
Fig. 47 Community Campus and Campus Green diagram...............................................................100
Fig. 48 Community Campus centered on Campus Green conceptual plan..................................101
Fig. 49 Wingohocking Creek bed, vacancy and poor building conditions......................................103
Fig. 50 Households, 2010.....................................................................................................................123
Fig. 51
Health statistics - children, 2010...............................................................................................123
Fig. 52
Health statistics - adults, 2010...................................................................................................123
Fig. 53 High school graduation rates, 2010......................................................................................124
Fig. 54 High school graduation rates, 2007 - 2010..........................................................................124
Fig. 55 Household income, 2005 - 2009...........................................................................................125
Fig. 56 Housing cost burden, 2005 - 2009........................................................................................125
Fig. 57 1950 Land use..........................................................................................................................126
Fig. 58 2009 Zoning...............................................................................................................................128
Fig. 59 Industrial zoning and non-industrial land use.......................................................................129
Fig. 60 Commercial land use map......................................................................................................134
Fig. 61 Commercial corridors (context)...............................................................................................135
Fig. 62 Residential property ownership map.....................................................................................136
Fig. 63 Residential
sales,
2002-2011....................................................................................137
Fig. 64 Vacancy map.............................................................................................................................138
Fig. 65 Building conditions and vacancy map....................................................................................139
Fig. 66 Wingohocking Creek Bed........................................................................................................142
Fig. 67 Street tree cover map...............................................................................................................145
Fig. 68 Open space map.......................................................................................................................146
Fig. 69 Transit (study area)...................................................................................................................149
Fig. 70 Transit (context).........................................................................................................................150
Fig. 71 Crimes against property, 2010...............................................................................................153

EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY

Educational success and strong residential blocks are assets to build on and expand.

The foundation of Esperanzas approach to community transformation, and the

substance of its commitment to the community, is education. For Esperanza,
education is a life-long process; therefore, the goal of this Plan is to weave
education into every phase of the neighborhood revitalization process. Central to
this process is the development of a community education road map referred
to hereafter as the Road Map. The Road Map builds on two successful models:
The Harlem Childrens Zone in New York City and Strive Partnership in Cincinnati.
The Road Map is a comprehensive guide designed to create an education pipeline
for students K-16 as well as to link community residents outside of the formal
education pipeline to educational, employment and financial services offered
with in Esperanza and the larger community. Like the Harlem Childrens Zone, the
Road Map attempts to build a formal education pipeline on top of social services
and community building progress. Like the Strive Partnership, the Road Map is
designed around education and career benchmarks and identifies areas where
additional support for successful outcomes is likely to be needed. In these key
transitions areas, Esperanza will work to ensure additional supportive structures
is in place. Moreover, the Road Map is link to important evidenced-based success
indicators. The Road Map connects and weaves together all elements of the
Hunting Park revitalization planeducation, housing, employment, housing, safety,
etcand is designed to be both preventative and meet the needs of individuals

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

at all stages in their developmental process. Additionally, the Road Map includes
alternative education networksalmost like a safety netdesigned to catch those
individuals who have diverted from the formal education and career tracts, and
provide a pathway back to the formal education and career networks.
The Hunting Park Neighborhood Strategic Plan 2022 presented here is bold and
ambitious in scope and depth, and in the resources that will be required to make
it a reality over time. The plan addresses seven core themes or areas of activity
referred to here as distinct but interconnected lines-of-business. The linesof-business will enable Esperanza, the sponsor of the plan, and its community
partnersthat together will form the Hunting Park Collaborativeto manage the work
and build on the enormous assets that already exist in the community. The plan will
help the Hunting Park Collaborative transform places, spaces, and activities that
detract from a high quality of life into ones that contribute to its overall vibrancy and
vitality. The lines-of-business grew out of an interactive planning process involving
residents, institutions, business, industry, and government, and are regarded as
keys to Hunting Parks continued evolution as an attractive place to live, raise a
family, operate a business, work, learn, worship, and play. The lines-of-business are
divided into three timeframes: immediate-term (2013-2015), intermediate-term
(2016-2017), and visionary/long-term (2018-2022).

Education Road Map.

ONE

BUILD ON HUNTING PARKS COMMUNITY PRIDE AND SPIRIT

1.1 Provide more opportunities for residents to engage with one another
1.2 Use existing leadership exhibited on strong residential blocks to help identify
and encourage new leadership to emerge
1.3 Connect residents to residents by developing more community building
activities
1.4 Launch NeighborCare, a formal process of outreach and engagement
emerging from this plan
1.5 Engage interested residents as NeighborCare team members working as
volunteers or receiving stipends
1.6 Establish and reinforce community pride and spirit as an underlying theme
for residential block improvements

TWO

ENHANCE COMMUNICATIONS, SERVICE DELIVERY, AND ACCESS

2.1 Enhance communications and coordination between nonprofits

2.2 Close the digital divide to ensure access to computer- and web-based
information technologies
2.3 Facilitate networking and collaborations among neighborhood service
providers
2.4 Establish a Hunting Park Achievement Zone as a web-based information
platform
2.5 Hold regular, inter-organizational meetings (roundtables) to discuss roles and
responsibilities for ensuring services and service delivery

THREE ADVANCE EDUCATION ECOLOGY AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

TOOL

3.1 Advance the Education Road Map concept by connecting existing education
services with family development and with community economic development
3.2 Advance the Community Education Road Map concept by developing
collaborations and partnerships with schools
3.3 Advance the Community Education Road Map concept by using a case
management/interdisciplinary team approach

FOUR REINFORCE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND MODEL BLOCK

DEVELOPMENT

4.1 Target north-south blocks in western Hunting Park

4.2 Target east-west blocks in western Hunting Park
4.3 Target blocks in central Hunting Park
4.4 Target blocks that are adjacent to the abandoned rail corridor
4.5 Target blocks in the northeast section of the community
4.6 Create criteria and budgets for each intervention category as part of a model
block strategy

It is a beautiful and safe place to live and raise

children. It becomes an educational hub; great
schools, even a college. The best park in the
city. You should come and visit, or better yet,
move here.
- resident vision

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

FIVE

PROMOTE ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

5.1 Improve the look and feel of the commercial corridor

5.2 Strengthen neighborhood business districts
5.3 Address crime and safety on the commercial corridors
5.4 Upgrade and market industrial space to light industrial tenants
5.5 Provide business support
5.6 Soften the impact of industrial and automotive uses on residential neighbors
5.7 Update current zoning classifications to reflect existing land use patterns

Existing

5.6

This example on 5th Street leading

up to Hunting Park Avenue is a good
opportunity to beautify a functional but
unattractive fence and also brand the
corridor.

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

Proposed

5.7

Downzone parcels that are better

suited for institutional and neighborhoodserving businesses.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SIX

REINVEST THROUGH CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

6.1 Help property owners maintain and repair sidewalks

6.2 Minimize impact of truck traffic on residential areas
6.3 Create institutional model blocks at Esperanza and SEPTA
6.4 Improve rail embankments and walls
6.5 Redesign 5th Street as the main institutional and commercial corridor
6.6 Transform Hunting Park Avenue as a park promenade
6.7 Target 5th Street between Hunting Park Avenue and Bristol Street for gateway
improvements
6.8 Rehabilitate and adaptively reuse the Roberto Clemente School building

6.7

The intersection of 5th Street and Hunting Park

Avenue is the natural gateway to Hunting Park and to
the main institutional and commercial corridor. The
block of 5th Street between Hunting Park Avenue and
Bristol Street is anchored by Esperanza and is a target
area for coordinated improvements.

6.5

Proposed redesign option defines existing travel lanes with

a 12-foot striped median and left turn lane.

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

Hunting Park Avenue is currently overly wide for a neighborhood-serving street,

with two lanes of traffic in each direction.

6.6

Hunting Park Promenade Option 1:

Proposed redesign reduces the travel lanes to one in each direction and repurposes
the excess space as a landscaped median.

Hunting Park Promenade Option 2:

Proposed redesign reduces the travel lanes to one in each direction and redistributes
the excess space to create planting strip extensions along the sidewalks.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SEVEN PROTECT AND ENHANCE OPEN SPACE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

7.1 Support Hunting Park Master Plan and ensure both plans are aligned and
reinforcing of one another
7.2 Connect neighborhoods to the park through improved streetscape
7.3 Improve tree cover and assist residents with tree maintenance
7.4 Support grassroots efforts to expand community gardens into other vacant
lots
7.5 Support play streets and add programming
7.6 Form an inter-organizational partnership to develop a Community Campus
centered around a Campus Green
- Strategize as a group for the development, programming and maintenance
of a Campus Green
- Reach out to other potential partners and resources
7.7 Reconnect Bristol and Wingohocking Streets
7.8 Request follow up study on Wingohocking Creekbed soil erosion
7.9 Develop green practices for the land around the former Wingohocking Creek
bed

7.6

The wealth of organizations in Hunting Park present an opportunity to form a Community Campus to oversee the redevelopment of the abandoned rail corridor as a Campus Green.

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

7.6-7.9

The concept of a Community Campus and

Campus Green connects neighborhoods
physically and through coordinated services.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

10

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

ACTION
PLAN
Esperanza is fully committed to the execution of this plan and doing so in a

manner that respects the spirit in which it was developed and principles on which
it is based. That means inviting and encouraging all neighborhood stakeholders
residents, institutions, business, industry and government to become active
investors in the activities, programs and projects they held up as priorities. The
plan of action for moving the plan forward as outlined in the last section includes:

A description of the proposed Hunting Park Collaborative (HPC), the

vehicle that will be formed to guide and drive implementation of the
Strategic Plan.

A mission and vision statement that will be used to guide the work
of the HPC and engage and involve residents, resident-serving
institutions, businesses andbusiness-serving institutions.

A corresponding budget estimating capital and non-capital costs,

and identifying potential sources to help finance the plan over the
first five-year period.

The projected budget and potential sources to finance it are shown below:

INVESTMENT TYPE
Cost/year
Non-Capital

5-year total

% of total

$443,000

$2,215,000

11%

$3,632,436

$18,162,179

89%

$4,075,436

$20,377,179

100%

Esperanza

$101,250

$506,250

2%

Hunting Park Collaborative

$101,250

$506,250

2%

Private Sector

$270,500

$1,352,500

7%

$3,602,436

$18,012,180

88%

$4,075,436

$20,377,180

100%

Capital
TOTAL

INVESTMENT SOURCE

Public/Quasi-Public Sector
TOTAL

A fundamental role of the HPC will be to manage the work of NeighborCare

Teams who will deliver or direct the delivery of services across all seven lines-ofbusiness. Each team will deploy ambassadors drawn from Hunting Park to carry
the work. HPC ambassadors will include youth and youth leaders for in-school and
out-of-school activities (academic and enrichment), parents and grandparents,
block captains, and leaders of neighborhood-based service Institutions.
The HPC will provide guidance for and facilitate the collection and evaluation of
information to identify, catalogue, and update the required skills-sets, capacities
and experiences needed by all care-givers. This will be carried out at the block
and block group, institutional, and community-wide level, and across all linesof-business called for in the plan. In rolling out the plan, Esperanza, in concert
with its community partners, will solicit financial and in-kind resources across
all sectors and industries to implement the range of activities, programs and
projects referenced in the pages that follow.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

11

I. INTRODUCTION

Fig. 1

14

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

Planning area and context

A.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
In the spring of 2011, Esperanza, a community-based organization serving the

Hunting Park neighborhood in North Philadelphia, contracted Lamar Wilson

Associates, Inc. and Interface Studio, LLC to help it develop a resident-driven
plan to guide, drive and manage community investments. The planning area
encompasses 80 square blocks extending from Mentor Avenue over to Roosevelt
Boulevard on the north and Luzerne Street on the south, to North Front Street
on the east, and North 9th Street on the west. The planning area is home to
13,700 residents, a number that has remained fairly constant since 1990; 48
educational, social and human service institutions; and 286 businesses and light
industries. The overarching objective of this plan, as refined over a ten-month
long process, is to build on these assets by leveraging investments from each of
those sectors to attract new resources to help revitalize and sustain this unique
neighborhood to the year 2022 and beyond.

Planning Area

The planning area has strong physical boundaries: Fairmount Parks Hunting
Park, an anchor for the larger community of North Philadelphia, and Roosevelt
Boulevard define the northern and western edges. Front Street and Luzerne serve
as softer edges across which residents and facilities consider themselves as part
of Hunting Park in general, though not officially within the study boundaries.
Approximately one-half of the land area is characterized by predominately singlefamily residential land uses, generally situated on the western portion of the plan
area. This area is served by neighborhood-serving commercial and retail uses.
The eastern side of the study area is dramatically different in character with large
parcels housing industry and institutions. Dividing the community physically is the
abandoned Conrail corridor, which travels through the study area at and below
grade on a diagonal from Roosevelt Boulevard to the north to Luzerne Street at
the southern boundary.

Esperanza - Plan Sponsor/Community Partner

Esperanza was founded in 1987 in response to the violence and poverty that
plagued the Hispanic community of North Philadelphia, and was created to bring
sustained hope to the individuals and families in the barrio. It has grown since
then from a one-person shop to an agency with over 200 employees today. In
2000, Esperanza saw possibilities where others saw abandoned factories and
subsequently acquired, converted and renovated one such building at 5th and
Bristol in Hunting Park as its corporate home. Over the past 10 years, Esperanza

has invested approximately $30 million in homeownership and rental projects

for low-income individuals, in the renovation of its facilities, and in commercial
development in the Hunting Park community. In addition, the organization
founded and continues to develop educational institutions, including Esperanza
Academy High School and Esperanza College of the Eastern University, health
initiatives, and workforce development programs serving this area, contributing
to the capacity of other nonprofit organizations in the community and across the
country.
In the early stages of this planning process, Rev. Luis Cortes, President and CEO
of Esperanza, met with the Advisory Committee and consultant team to share his
expectations for the plan and emphasize its importance. Esperanza has been
working in Hunting Park for two decades on education, housing and economic
development, but Rev. Cortes posed the question: why hasnt it yet made the
impact needed to achieve a fully revitalized and vibrant community, one that can
be sustained over time like other healthy communities in other places? The way
forward, he is convinced, is through the creation of a shared vision for the whole
community by the whole community, achieving buy-in by those who stand the
most to gain or lose and who are prepared to participate in shaping the future
and working towards a shared community vision. This approach is designed
to avoid what tends to happen when improvements are made in lower-income
neighborhoods: the existing community is forced out and denied the benefit of
enjoying those improvements. Among the keys to preventing displacement is
inclusion in the planning process and ensuring the plan addresses three central
questions:

How do we improve this place for the people here now?

How do we improve the education system for the people here now?
What are the possibilities beyond the norm?

Embedded in the pursuit of a shared vision for Hunting Park is the commitment
of residents living here, institutions serving the area, companies doing business
here, and the government all doing their part to invest their time, talent, ideas,
and energy to the overarching theme of the Hunting Park Neighborhood Strategic
Plan 2022:

Building on Our Assets Embracing Our Opportunities

INTRODUCTION

15

Overarching Theme

The central theme of this plan was evident from the early stages of researching
neighborhood conditions. Through the collection and analysis of demographic
data, resident perceptions and concerns, land use, building conditions, and the
general physical and quality of life characteristics of Hunting Park, the theme
Building on Our Assets was developed. This theme reflects a belief in
the community and works towards strengthening the resources that already exist
to see, seize, and take advantage of opportunities to improve and sustain the
community into and beyond 2022. Among the chief assets of Hunting Park are:

Residents, individually and as neighbors, working on and committed

to improving their own community;

Civic and service Institutions based in the community and supporting

it through programs in the areas of education, healthcare, childcare,
housing, workforce development, recreation, arts, entertainment
and culture, faith-based initiatives, and community development;

Businesses and industry providing goods and services at the

neighborhood, community, city and regional levels;

Community facilities, including Hunting Park itself, offering active

and passive recreation activities, green and open spaces, and
community meeting places, as well as community centers providing
multi- and inter- generational services for children, youth, adults,
seniors, and families;

Guiding Principles

The ten-month long planning process was guided by core principles and underlying
values evolving from many community-level discussions and forums. Esperanzas
senior management and the Wilson/Interface consultant team set the context for
the planning process, and the Advisory Committee and Subcommittees guided
the planning process and helped explore and drill-down deeper on Hunting
Parks assets, needs and priorities. Door-to-door surveys of over 400 households,
focus group discussions involving community residents, stakeholder interviews,
and community-wide meetings reinforced opinions and priorities expressed by
Esperanza senior management, the consultant team, and the Advisory Committee
and subcommittees. These principles served as goals to help guide the planning
work, inform specific priorities, and recommended the action steps outlined in
this plan. The core principles are:

To sustain and develop leadership across all sectors of Hunting

Park as an Achievement Zone, through strong recruitment and
professional growth opportunities for neighborhood residents and
neighborhood institutions, focusing on:
o Individual residents,
o Families and friends at the block and neighborhood level,
o Trustees, managers, staff and volunteers at the institutional
level;1

Physical Infrastructure with strong bones in terms of connected

streets and sidewalks, and public transit networks that generally
serve the community well; and

To promote equitable development by helping existing

residents preserve and maintain the affordability of their
homes so that, as the neighborhood continues to improve,
residents are not at-risk of being displaced and can enjoy
the benefits of a thriving, healthy and vibrant community;

An abandoned rail corridor traversing many neighborhoods within

and extending outside the community that is begging to be reimagined and made an integral part of Hunting Parks infrastructure
and value.

To stimulate community economic development by assisting local

businesses and industry to become more viable and fostering
cooperative relationships between businesses and their neighbors;
and

To create a safer, cleaner, greener, more secure, and overall

healthier neighborhood through the implementation of the Hunting
Park Neighborhood Strategic Plan.

1
Schools, service providers, business and industry, civic organizations, faithbased entities, and government.

16

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

Governance Plan Priorities and Rollout

Throughout the course of developing this plan, Wilson/Interface reported

to, advised, and made recommendations to Esperanzas representatives;
these included Esperanzas Community Organizer, initially Lyza Rosario
then subsequently the Community Planning Project Director, Pita Lacenski;
a 22-member Advisory Committee comprised of community stakeholders;
and three Subcommittees focused on priority areas identified very early in
the process: education, housing, and economic development. Esperanza, as
sponsor of the plan and fiscal agent under contract with the Wells Fargo Regional
Foundation, Aetna Insurance Company, and Citizens Bank, is solely responsible
for achieving the objectives of the planning process and ensuring a residentdriven comprehensive plan. As such, it has approved and authorized the release
and rollout of this Hunting Park Neighborhood Strategic Plan 2022 developed
in collaboration with the Hunting Park community and the Wilson Associates/
Interface Studio consulting team. Going forward, Esperanza will lead all efforts to
promote the plan throughout Hunting Park and among public and private sector
policy- and decision-makers to build and sustain a broad and solid constituency
for its implementation, and to leverage the resources required human, financial
and political to help achieve its objectives and outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

17

B. ROLE OF ESPERANZA, COMMUNITY AND

CONSULTANT TEAM
Throughout the development of the plan, Esperanza helped guide the planning
process, set goals, make recommendations based upon the results of the
research work, and review recommendations offered by Wilson/Interface. One
early finding from the planning work is that Hunting Park has an abundance of
resources, which sets it apart from many neighborhoods. Its resources span
from the skills and knowledge of residents, to neighborhood-based institutions
and businesses offering a broad range of resources and services, to an active
resident leadership cohort.
What could use improvement to bring these resources to bear is regular
communication, coordination, and collaboration among service organizations
in the areas of program design, service delivery, tracking and/or comparing
outcomes and any impacts generated from their work. To take best advantage
of the opportunity presented by the resourceful individuals and institutions living
and operating in the community, it is important that Esperanza engage its sister
organizations in working more closely together to share information and, at
minimum, coordinate their services, service delivery and service assessment.
This plan can and should be used to pursue a special collaboration among
neighborhood residents, service providers, civic institutions, business and
industry as listed here to help carry it out:

Educational Services
Aspira
Esperanza Academy
Esperanza College of Eastern University
Hunting Park Christian Academy
Timothy Academy
Business Community
5th Street and Hunting Park Business Association
SEPTA
Non-commercial corridor bodega ownership represented by Albas Grocery
Wells Fargo Wyoming Store
Human/Social Services
Asociacin Puertorriqueos en Marcha for Everyone (APM)
Ayuda Community Center
Casa Del Carmen
Esperanza Health Center
Civic
Fairmount Park Conservancy
Hunting Park Stakeholders
Hunting Park United
Arts and Culture Services
Artistas y Msicos Latinos Americanos (AMLA)
Faith-Based Organizations
In The Light Ministries
Joy in the City
One Hope Community Church
The community strategy for Esperanza and Hunting Park includes reaching out
to and engaging public- and private-sector institutions governmental, business,
cultural and religious that have a stake in the communitys continued stability,
growth, and development. As such, the community views their plan as a tool for
generating the social, financial and political capital required to implement the
plans recommendations, produce the outcomes, and make the impacts called
for over the next ten years.

18

HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

C. PLANNING PROCESS
Sequence of Activities

The ten-month long neighborhood strategic planning process involved several

steps designed to collect relevant information about the neighborhood from a
variety of sources; U.S. Census Bureau data, field surveys, resident perception
surveys, focus group discussions, community-wide meetings, advisory committee
meetings, and stakeholder interviews. Key intervals of this process were carefully
designed for the consultant team to share information, solicit feedback to test the
accuracy and/or interpretation of information collected, and determine how and
the extent to which such information reflects community assets, needs, concerns,
and priorities.
The general sequence of the planning steps and activities included the following:
May-July 2011
Esperanza senior management and consultant team meeting to
develop and refine scope, schedule and budget
Advisory Committee kick-off meeting to inform community of
planning process and timeline and to solicit input.
Begin research and data collection phase examining demographic,
land use and physical conditions.
Design and launch resident survey process, administer survey, and
analyze results.
September-December 2011
Complete baseline data collection and analysis.
Summarize existing conditions based on the research data.

October-December 2011
Develop preliminary ideas and early stage recommendations for
internal review and consideration.
Present preliminary findings to the community through communitywide meetings.
Conduct stakeholder interviews and set stage for focus group
discussions based on existing conditions.
January-February 2012
Continuation of stakeholder interviews, and focus group discussions.
Develop vision and underlying planning principles to help guide plan
recommendations.
Prepare preliminary recommendations.
Present preliminary recommendations to community through:
o A series of smaller-scale community meetings
o Advisory committee meetings
Refine recommendations.
Meet with Esperanza senior management to present and refine final
recommendations.
Prepare draft plan.
March 2012
Prepare final plan and submit to Esperanza for final review and
approval, and rollout.

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19

Community Outreach/Engagement

Resident Surveys
Esperanza organized the resident perception survey process, securing and
supervising workers to canvas the neighborhoods in the planning area, knocking
on doors to introduce themselves and talk with neighbors about strengths and
needs in the community. The canvassing was conducted in July of 2011 over
the entire community, and in all, 446 surveys were completed and returned,
representing 11% of the 4,142 households in the Hunting Park planning area.
Survey participants were evenly distributed throughout the study area. Esperanza
staff downloaded the survey results into a database to analyze and report survey
results and findings to inform this Strategic Plan. [See Appendix for Community
Survey instrument]
Engagement Through Meetings
Esperanza also invited residents and other stakeholders to serve on the
22-member Advisory Committee and three subcommittees 1) Affordable
Housing, 2) Community Economic Development and 3) Education and Supportive
Services to guide the work, review and comment on the data collected and
interpreted by the consultant team, and provide information from their knowledge
of Hunting Park to inform and shape the plan. In addition, community members
and representatives of civic and service institutions based in or operating
in Hunting Park participated in community-wide meetings and focus group
discussions. Attendance at these sessions ranged from moderate to extensive as
summarized below:

Advisory Committee Meetings (May, September, December 2011 and February 2012)
Aggregate attendance: 51
Average attendance: 13 per session
Community-wide Meetings and Civic Group Sessions (October 2011, and January through
March 2012)
Aggregate attendance: 42
Average attendance: 21 per session
Civic group discussions both presentations and focus groups and stakeholder
interviews were used to solicit opinions, explore ideas or issues that emerged
from surveys or other meetings, and comment on recommendations as they
were developed. These sessions took place over a four-month timeframe from
November 2011 through February 2012. The following entities and organizations
were engaged in this process:

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HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

Action Harvest
Albas Grocery
Asociacin Puertorriqueos en Marcha for Everyone (APM)
Ayuda Community Center
Casa del Carmen
Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia (Hunting Park branch)
Esperanza College of Eastern University (student leaders focus
group)
Esperanza Academy (student focus group)
Esperanza Health Center
Fairmount Park Conservancy
Finanta
Hunting Park Stakeholders
Hunting Park United
Joy in the City
North 5th Street Revitalization Project
One Hope Community Church
SEPTA
Spirit and Truth
The Food Trust
Representatives for the office of Tony Payton Jr.

Fig. 2

Distribution of resident surveys

INTRODUCTION

21

D. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To Our Funders of the Plan

Wells Fargo Regional Foundation

Wells Fargo Community Partners Program
Citizens Bank
Aetna
Esperanza is grateful for the generous support from the plan funders, principally
the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation, Citizens Bank, and Aetna. We would also
like to extend our gratitude to the Wells Fargo Community Partnership Program for
their recognition and support of Esperanza and the Hunting Park Revitalization
Plan. The enduring commitment of these institutions to serving the communities
in which they operate empowers Esperanzas achievements towards community
revitalization.

To Our Community and Partners

Esperanza acknowledges and greatly appreciates the hard work, time invested
and ideas shared by the many individuals, organizations and institutions listed
below (and others not listed who may have missed signing-in at the various
meetings held from community meetings, to coordinating sessions, special focus
group conversations, and surveys). They truly set the context and vision of the
plan and are prepared, willing and able to work along side other partners who
we are confident will work together in ensuring that the recommendations and
priorities of this plan are realized over the coming weeks, months and years.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Alice Culver, SEPTA

Alicia Mojica, Esperanza Academy
Annabella Roig, Esperanza
Ariel Ben-Amos, Mayors Office of Transportation and Utilities
Art Haywood, Esperanza
Cheryl Pope, APM
David Ortiz, Philadelphia City Planning Commission
David Rossi, Esperanza Academy
Edgardo Gonzalez, State Representative Tony Paytons Office
Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, Esperanza College
Griscelle Newman, Casa del Carmen
Jorge Santana (Chair), Hunting Park United
Jojy Varghese, State Representative Tony Paytons Office
Kimberly Tucker, PNC Bank
Lucas Rivera, AMLA
Luz Lopez, Wells Fargo Bank
Maria Iannarelli, Esperanza Housing
Susan M. Post, Esperanza Health Center
Virgen Ortiz, Esperanza Economic Development
Wendy Green, SEPTA
Eunice Shin, Ayuda Community Center
Wilfred Hoffman, SEPTA

SUBCOMMITTEES2

Affordable Housing
Ted Oswald, Legal Counsel, Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia
Jennifer Rodriguez, APM Deputy VP for Programs and Services
Maria Iannarelli, National Housing Projects Director
Community Economic Development
Virgen Ortiz, Esperanza Commercial Corridor Manager
Bertha Sarmina, Finanta
Fernando Ayala, Wells Fargo
2
Pita Lacenski, Esperanzas Community Planning Project Director, Lamar Wilson
of Wilson Associates and Stacey Chen and Rapheal Randall of Interface Studio provided
general and technical support to the Advisory Committee and all subcommittees.

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HUNTING PARK NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGIC PLAN 2022

Education and Supportive Services

Pita Lacenski, Esperanza Community Planning Project Director
David Rossi, Esperanza Academy Charter Principal
Roberto Luciano, Education Specialist at Esperanza College
Dr. Conde-Frazier, Dean of Esperanza College and Subcommittee
Co-chair
Lyza Rosario, Community Organizer at Esperanza
Griselle Newman, Administrator at Casa del Carmen and
Subcommittee Co-chair
Marilisse Coln, Hispanic Market Specialist at Al Da
John Lavery, Lighthouse
Lucas Rivera, ALMA

ESPERANZA SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM AND STAFF

Rev. Luis Cortes, CEO

Danny Cortes, COO
Art Haywood, EVP-Legal Counsel
Pita Lacenski, Community Planning Project Director
Lyza Rosario, Community Organizer/Survey Team Coordinator
Jodi Reynhout, Special Project Director for the President
Elizabeth Pendley, Development Associate
Christine Nieves, Director of Grants and Donor Relations

Residents were asked to

envision what Hunting
Park would be like in
10 years and write a
postcard from the future.

For any individuals, organizations, and others not listed herewho may have
missed signing-in at the various community meetings, coordinating sessions,
special focus group conversations, and survey eventsEsperanza greatly
appreciates your hard work and dedication to the improvement of Hunting Park.
This neighborhood revitalization plan belongs to us all.

To Our Planning Consultants

Lamar Wilson, V. Lamar Wilson Associates

Scott Page, Interface Studio, LLC
Stacey Chen, Interface Studio, LLC
Rapheal Randall, Interface Studio, LLC

a safe family-oriented community where

the community members are involved and
care about the upkeep and maintenance of
their family. More stores, beautiful park. Safer
schools. Revitalized homes. - resident vision
Resident visions are included throughout the report.

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23