About

The Fairmount CDC’s mission is to foster the improvement of the residential, commercial, and social fabric of the Fairmount neighborhood, while preserving its character and diversity. Our service area is bounded by two commercial corridors (Girard & Fairmount Avenues), Fairmount Park, and the Eastern State Penitentiary (Corinthian Avenue).

The organization was formed in 1999 by a group of civic-minded Fairmount neighbors who sought to take advantage of the neighborhood improvement opportunities by creating a non-profit community development corporation. The organization was awarded non-profit status in 2001 and completed a resident-driven neighborhood plan in 2003. Although Fairmount CDC has remained a small organization, the diversity of the programming and recent accomplishments speak volumes about the capacity and willingness of the Fairmount CDC to get the job done.

While the work of the Fairmount CDC is broad in scope, each project falls into one of four major target areas designed to accomplish our mission which include:

Working with TreeVitalize we’ve help plant over 250 trees in the area. Additional efforts have included planters along select blocks, new plantings in playgrounds, and the distribution of over 500 recycling bins!

Our community events include the annual Fairmount Fling featuring auctions, music, and food sampling from local restaurants; the Fairmount Arts Crawl which draws visitors from all over the city; Art + Soul Food on West Girard Avenue which highlights the delicious soul food restaurants on the Avenue and local artists and musicians; and Bastille Day hosted by Eastern State Pententiary.

We work closely with the Mural Arts program to create public works of art around the Fairmount area. Most recently, we’ve completed the Poplar Street Bridge Mural, and scheduled for completion in summer 2010, the Bishop’s Collar Mural and the Girard Gateway Mural at W. College Avenue and W. Girard Avenue.

Through our Commercial Facade Improvement Grant and the City’s Storefront Improvement Program, area businesses can obtain funding for signage and facade improvements. Additional business support & developments comes in the form of support for small business loans and grant applications, referrals to business services agencies, assistance in organizing business promotion events, and providing administrative support to the Fairmount Area Business Association and the West Girard Business Association.