Coming Soon- Market East
More News About Market East:
· Eight pop-up retail spaces opening on the 900 block of Market Street in May, in buildings owned by the Fashion District, Comcast, and HBSE.
· Eight local artists will cover about 5,500 square feet of frontage across at least 10 locations , including the Fashion District exterior and the shuttered Giant Heirloom Market space at 8th and Market
· A $1.85 million city grant is funding 42 new street trees, refurbished transit head houses, and 21 bus shelters
· Comcast and HBSE quietly put on hold plans to demolish buildings on the 1000 block, including the architecturally significant Robinson’s Building
We can be negative all we want, but this might be a decent first step in finding our footing and driving momentum.
Before we can start at a major successful turnaround, we need to progress through really well executed or good-ish. Like I lot of things, I think this effort lives or dies by how well the property owners and stakeholders are able to be consistent. $2 million dollars in the hole will do nobody any good if the trees aren’t watered/the appearance allows for trash/dirt/grime to accumulate regularly. As I have stated before, experiences are going to drive outcomes and this area is unfortunately starting on less than neutral ground.
Who I believe are going to be essential in that regard are two essential stakeholders for driving a wonderful experience.
First, Center City District.
Center City District has done a really great job building momentum in other parts of the city. One key skill that they are able to deliver on is visioning. What would it look like if we closed a bunch of streets to traffic and filled that space with attractions? They found out. They also do a great job conducting research and publishing on the key wins/telling the story a successful turnaround would need (take a look here).
Can you imagine utilizing the Disney Hole on 8th and Market as a gathering with seating for a movie projected on the wall with lots of food trucks/ vendors nearby? That’s achievable and the kind of activation I am imagining them leading.
Along similar lines, I think that coordination with Philadelphia’s Night Mayor Shaheem Manning would be very helpful to ensure this area remains a consistent focus and gets access to resources no just during the day. Is a nighttime concert of small/medium size achievable? I would say so!
Regarding the vendors that will have popups, I am imagining a Philly centric focus. Basically driving towards the Philadelphia Airport Localization without big and expensive tenant improvement projects. In my mind these would be some good candidate, so let’s hope they were invited to participate.
1. Jiggy’s/Vibrant coffee
2. Philadelphia Independents(ish)
3. Mitchell and ness,
4. John’s Water Ice
5. Paulie Gees,
Clearly I have a few more spots to fill here, what do you think?
Reference-
https://billypenn.com/2026/03/13/philadelphia-market-east-retail-popup-planning-mural/
