Over $3.5 million in grants coming to Waxman’s Center City district

Rep. Ben Waxman    September 15, 2026 | 2:24 PM

Rep. Ben Waxman, D-Phila., has announced $3,539,211 in grant funding from the Local Share Account program that will benefit 13 projects in the 182nd Legislative District. The grants listed below were awarded to the PIDC Financing Corp. on behalf of the following entities:

• Avenue of the Arts: $200,000 to remove outdated infrastructure, install new planters and establish of long-term maintenance.
• Tindley Temple United Methodist Church: $400,000 to renovate Charles Albert Tindley study and living quarters in the Tindley Temple.
• Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships Inc.: $200,000 to restore and modernize its 122-year-old historic headquarters.
• Friends of Rittenhouse: $500,000 to install enhanced lighting infrastructure in Rittenhouse Square.
• Historical Society of Pennsylvania: $100,000 for repairs and improvements to HSP’s historic building.
• Marian Anderson Recreation Center: $350,000 to install turfgrass at Marian Anderson Recreation Center.
• City of Philadelphia: $530,794 for drainage and soil restoration to the field at the Palumbo Recreation Center.
• Philadelphia Theatre Co.: $203,683 for elevator modernization at its Philadelphia facility.
• The Liberty Bell Pops (doing business as Philly Pops): $90,431 for the purchase of upgraded concert performance equipment.
• St. Mark's Episcopal Church: $139,303 to construct a ramp at the parish hall entrance of St. Mark's Episcopal Church.
• Moore College of Art and Design: $425,000 for the Rittenhouse Hall Elevator Modernization Project.
• Schuylkill River Development Corp.: $150,000 for a bank rehabilitation project along the Schuylkill Banks trail.

“Investing in our communities is one of the most effective ways to create opportunity,” Waxman said. “This $3.5 million in funding will directly support organizations that are doing the work of creating community in our neighborhoods. These grants are a direct investment of our tax dollars in the places that matter most to people in the district.”

The following grant was allocated in collaboration with House Appropriations Chairman Jordan Harris:

• Philadelphia Clef Club of the Performing Arts: $250,000 to renovate the organization's cultural facility.

“As majority chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, I am proud to support funding that protects our cultural assets and strengthens Philadelphia’s cultural economy,” said Harris. “The Philadelphia Clef Club of the Performing Arts is a cultural institution that has nurtured generations of artists and preserved the rich musical legacy of our city. This investment supports public arts education and workforce development in the arts, ensuing the Clef Club remains a hub for education, performance, and community engagement.”

The Local Share Account program is funded through revenue generated by gaming and is administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority to support projects that enhance economic development, public infrastructure and community vitality.

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