Penelope Giles – Philadelphia Neighborhoods

Francisville: Urbanstead Farm Teaches Neighbors About Food, Responsibility

March 28, 2016 Paige C Gross 0

When Urbanstead founder Lisa Gaidanowicz was given a plot of land in Francisville to create a farm a few years ago, she didn’t realize it might be the first time neighborhood residents saw food coming […]

Francisville: Commercial Redevelopment is Progressing

June 14, 2011 0

From an outsider’s perspective, Francisville has always appeared to be living in the shadow of its neighbor, Fairmount. While Fairmount was developed with high-price townhouses and fancy restaurants, Francisville remained, for the most part, in […]

Francisville: Parks Create More Than Just Grass

April 29, 2011 1

https://vimeo.com/22909418] A cleaning and greening initiative has swept Philadelphia including the small, historic neighborhood of Francisville. Vacant lots in Francisville are disappearing at a surprisingly fast rate thanks in part to Penelope Giles, founder of […]

There is a major trash problem in Francisville, Searl said.

Francisville: Does A Better Future Await?

April 17, 2011 4

Although the newly emerging “Philadelphia 2035” is a comprehensive plan to energize this historic city for more improvements over the next 24 years some of the improvements will be visible within the next year […]

Francisville: The New ‘It’ Place To Live?

April 15, 2011 0

“Francisville is a good model for a mixture of housing types and a mixture of income levels coexisting in the same neighborhood,” said Richard Redding, director of community planning at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. […]

Francisville: An End to Vacant Lots?

March 25, 2011 1

“Francisville is filled with vacant lots and we are working hard to stabilize them,” said Penelope Giles, the president of the Francisville Neighborhood Development Corp. Recently, the Planning Commission of Philadelphia has released a draft […]

Francisville: 16th and Poplar Project Almost Finished

February 23, 2011 1

The Francisville East development at 16th and Poplar streets is nearly finished, developers said. Community Ventures, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, broke ground on the project last February – a time when construction projects were […]

Francisville: The Vineyard

February 4, 2011 0

Though many Philadelphians lump Francisville in with Fairmount or Spring Garden, any resident will tell you the neighborhood’s history sets it apart. In the late 1600s Francisville was home to “Springettsbury Manor,” an estate historians […]