Central Philadelphia Development Corporation

CPDC membership provides exclusive access to programming and networking opportunities to expand your business in Center City Philadelphia.

Since its inception, CPDC has undertaken a number of initiatives to make Center City Philadelphia a more competitive place to do business.

Learn more about Industry leaders who are invested in the future of Center City Philadelphia.

Your business belongs in the heart of Philadelphia, the 5th largest metropolitan region in the country, a destination of choice for companies seeking a thriving urban setting.

Join the hundreds of business leaders making a difference in Center City.

Philadelphia continues its slow, steady though uneven recovery. By April, payroll employment citywide rose to 95.6% of February 2020 levels, compared to 99.2% in the nation. The lagging pace reflects the slow rebound in leisure and hospitality employment and the ripple effects of remote work on those jobs that rely on the presence of other workers. Still, the unemployment rate continues to decline and the volume of office workers in Center City continues to rise.

Demand for Center City retail has been built upon a diversified base of office, education and health care workers, a large and growing downtown population and an expanding number of tourists and convention attendees.

On December 14, 2021 CPDC hosted an in-person meeting about accelerating the safe return to office with guest speakers Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, Deputy Police Commissioner Joel Dales and SEPTA's Assistant General Manager Jody Holton.

CPDC's bi-weekly newsletter with a roundup of real estate, development, economic, government and other news concerning Center City Philadelphia.

For the last two decades, Greater Center City has been the fastest growing residential section of both Philadelphia and the entire region. After a temporary dip in population, the number of downtown residents on sidewalks in Center City had rebounded to 2019 levels by the end of 2021. Rents and home sale prices held up and the number of newly-permitted residential units in both Center City and citywide reached the highest point in decades in 2021.

This is a transformational moment for Philadelphia, when investments in economic development funded by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) can be combined with the long-recommended changes to Philadelphia's tax structure to prompt faster and more equitable citywide job growth.