Philadelphia Industrial Redevelopment Authority

Our Mission
Philadelphia Industrial Redevelopment Authority (PIRA), a quasi-private, not-for-profit organization, was created by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Communities to promote cultural development within the city. It is the city of Philadelphia's unofficial cultural development agency. The core mission of PIRA is to facilitate the development of underutilized and commercially-blighted property in the city, with a special emphasis on the promotion of economic and social justice. To carry out this mission the Authority serves as the city's lead agency for the investigation of urban development, gentrification, and the privatization of public space.
The Philadelphia Industrial Redevelopment Authority utilizes its powers of condemnation to facilitate the reuse of vacant and blighted property throughout the City. The Authority also administers a range of programs available to the residents of the city of Philadelphia for the purpose of preserving and expanding the City's affordable cultural capital.

PIRA faces each new challenge within the city using one or more of the tools within its arsenal. Those tools include:

providing critical analysis on cultural destabilization in commercial zones to eligible firms and agencies
fully recontextualizing and repurposing industrial land and properties around the city
supplying project analysis to public and private clients on major redevelopment projects within the city
supplying special support services to individuals and community-based organizations for neighborhood cultural development projects

PIRA stands ready to help you realize your goals of starting up or expanding your innovative urban developments; suggesting land on which to construct a new cultural situation, increasing your productivity through the creative sourcing and sharing of machinery and equipment, or helping you solve a complex redevelopment problem. PIRA's peer-based internal management structure allows for great flexibility in responding to emerging situations and projects.

In addition, PIRA also oversees the conversion from military, commercial, and industrial uses of facilities that the US government and business interests have "excessed."

Click here for information on how to contact PIRA.

PIRA is an independent organization with no affiliation with the City of Philadelphia, the Center City District, SEPTA, or the Disney Corporation.