Residents weigh in on Baltimore Ave. makeover

Baltimore Avenue is scheduled for a makeover, but not all residents find the prospect pretty.

For the next five years, University City District will receive annual grants of $75,000 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to improve the facades of businesses along Baltimore between 45th and 50th streets.

About one-third of the money, which was state-allocated, will go into actual building improvements. The other funds will be used to pay overhead costs, such as salaries and other administrative expenses.

According to Joe McNulty, who manages the project on behalf of UCD, three business facades are already slated to be remodeled this fall. He declined to specify which three.

Local opinion on the initiative is mixed.

Some residents and business owners think the avenue would benefit from a newer, more inviting appearance.

"I think everyone here would support the idea," said Ahmadi Aguis, who lives in the area. "People run away because of the ugly look of the buildings."

Nick Lal, who runs Nick's Discount & 99 Cent Store at 47th and Baltimore streets, thinks the yearly funds are "great" and would like his storefront to be among those chosen for renovation by UCD.

But other local residents, such as Devin Saurus, say the plan is merely an effort to attract wealthier Philadelphians to the neighborhood and will not benefit longtime residents.

"$25,000 so that more rich white college students can feel more comfortable here? No thanks," said Saurus, who works at Mariposa Food Co-Op, located at 4726 Baltimore Ave. "There's so many other uses that amount of money could go to that would benefit people who have already lived here a long time."

Another nearby resident, Latrice Patterson, said she thinks "it's ridiculous and a waste of money." She said she would rather see the money spent on books for students.

Steph Marina agreed that UCD should be helping the community in more substantive ways, such as directly providing small businesses with grants, "as opposed to just making the neighborhood prettier," she said.

The money comes from the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Center: a program that provides communities with advice and funds to revitalize their commercial areas.

Lee Senior, UCD's director of neighborhood initiatives, said the primary focus of the Main Street program is "the physical environment, improving the aesthetics" of the avenue.

After five years of support from the Main Street program, McNulty said, "the hope is that it will feel like more of a cohesive experience as you go up Baltimore, rather than little pockets of businesses. It'll feel like it's thriving all the way up the street."

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