Community Development Corporation of Frankford Group Ministry

The Frankford CDC is committed to building on the assets of the Frankford community by providing increased job opportunities, building affordable homes, and supporting the development of increased financial resources through growing stable businesses.  Frankford CDC seeks to accomplish our mission by focusing on affordable housing and business development.  We work closely with the Commerce Department and the Office of Business Services through our Targeted Corridor Revitalization Management Program to help meet the needs of businesses on Frankford’s main commercial corridor.  

We also work with the Office of Housing and Community Development through our Neighborhood Advisory Committee to promote homeownership and provide affordable housing resources to neighborhood residents. The Neighborhood Advisory Committee empowers neighborhood residents to control around development in the neighborhood through their participation in our community zoning board. Outside of providing housing and business based resources to our constituents, the Frankford CDC engages in several community beautification efforts through our Corridor Cleaning Program and our partnerships with local grass-roots organizations with a mission geared at beautifying Frankford. 

Recent Accomplishments: 

In 2012, the Frankford CDC worked closely with our City Councilperson to complete a two-phase capital project.  The first phase included a $200,000 targeted façade improvements project.  Business owners on the 4600 block of Frankford Avenue received new awnings, windows, painting, signage and some good old façade scrubbing is how the money will be spent.

The second phase of the project included the implementation of Imagining Frankford, a collaborative project with the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program that consisted of installing a collection of murals along Frankford Avenue corridor.  Through a number of community gatherings and public creative planning meetings facilitated by the Frankford CDC, Mural Arts staff and Frankford residents explored the diverse places, events, and people that make up the community’s past and current identity.  These places, people and events were then placed in six different murals and placed along Frankford Avenue.

In 2013 the Frankford CDC, through a partnership with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, begin to implement Destination Frankford. Destination Frankford is an arts-based initiative using the concept of creative place-making to enhance and expand the resources of the Frankford community. Destination came in three phases, the installation of an art gallery in a vacant store front; installing new way finding signage throughout the neighborhood; the installation of a creative outdoor space.  

In 2014, the Frankford CDC was awarded three planning grants from the Community Design Collaborative that provided conceptual design services for façade improvements for six businesses on Frankford Avenue; the transformation of a blighted vacant lot on Frankford venue into a creative outdoor gathering space; and the installation of new creative way finding signage throughout the neighborhood.    The design services for the vacant lot was incorporated into the Destination Frankford Grant for a creative outdoor space.

The installation of the Art Gallery in 2014 was a huge success.  The Destination Frankford Art Gallery consisted of three exhibits that took on the themes Reclaim, Rediscover, and Reanimate.  Each art gallery showcasing was coupled with a community block party that brought together local residents, elected officials, and visitors from all different parts of the City.  

The Frankford CDC is currently in the process of working with City Planning to implement the second phase of the project that consist of installing way-finding signage throughout the neighborhood.   These new signs will replace old mismatched signs on the Elevated Train structure that runs through the heart of the corridor will bring a unified way-finding system to Frankford Avenue. The first phase of signs have been designed and fabricated and will be installed this fall.  

The final phase of Destination Frankford will consist of transforming a vacant and blighted lot into a creative outdoor space; the Frankford Pause Park.  With a performance stage, open lawn, and a vegetable garden, the Frankford Pause supports a wide range of community activities. As an interactive art environment, the park design uses bold colors and sound activated lighting to create a totally unique experience that cannot be had anywhere else in the city.  This project is scheduled for an early spring ground breaking.