Center City continues its comeback from pandemic with new residents, visitors making up for lost office workers

All this week, KYW Newsradio has stories of post-pandemic recovery with a series called "The State of Downtown." Listen on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. for "Audacy Conversations: The State of Downtown."

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Workers are almost done transforming the plaza around City Hall into a wonderland for the holidays — a time when the core of a city of 1.5 million becomes a Norman Rockwell village of skaters, shoppers and vendors in small wooden huts selling snacks, ornaments and gifts, like Tate Newfield’s blown glass.

“Business right now is pretty good,” he said. “On the weekends they’re fantastic and on weekdays, having the ice rink right across from this booth is really good.”

“This is really great for the city psychologically to see lots of people out there,” said Paul Levy, president of the Center City District, which operates the rink and holiday market.

The city still has some ground to make up in order to be where it was during the 2019 holidays, but Levy’s data shows continuous growth since 2020. The number of residents is up 26%. Tourism has returned and office workers are trickling back, slowly but steadily, to 70% of pre-pandemic levels.

“I think people are very optimistic,” he said. “We’ve been through the largest challenge that any of us have lived through in our adult lives in the vitality of the city, and the city’s coming back. I don’t want to be Pollyanna, we still have a lot of challenges, but the city’s in great shape.”

Levy said Philadelphia ranks seventh in recovery, among 26 cities the district recently studied. He expects another boost, too, from the election of a new mayor — energy and enthusiasm he says the city needs right now.

“All the indicators are heading in the right direction,” he added.