😷 Explaining the new COVID strain

🏠 Will the Housing Market Bounce Back?

After a 20% decrease in closed home sales in the Philly region in 2023, mostly due to high mortgage rates, real estate experts are “cautiously optimistic” about a housing market rebound this year. One expert anticipates a 3%–5% increase in home sales in 2024 as buyers come to terms with higher interest rates. [PHL Business Journal]

🏗️ Diversifying Development in Philly

The Philly RiSE program is partnering with a group of Black business leaders called the Black Squirrel Collective to support developers of color by extending capital and networks to those historically excluded from the industry. The program plans to launch its second cohort this year and expand to another city within two years. [Inquirer]

🚮 Food Waste on the Rise

According to data from the nonprofit ReFED, Pennsylvania threw out 2.9 million pounds of uneaten food in 2022, with residential waste accounting for 57%. The state’s food waste increased 3.6% between 2016 and 2022, most of which ended up in the landfill. [Axios Philly]

• Related: How you can minimize food waste by repurposing your leftovers. [City Cast Philly 🎧]

🚆 Will New Apartments Boost SEPTA?

The El has seen fewer riders since the pandemic, but there are hundreds of apartments being built next to the train on Front Street in the Fishtown and Kensington neighborhoods. Could the housing boom bring more riders back onto the train? [City Cast Philly 🎧]

Why Front Street Is Seeing a Housing Boom

Hundreds of apartments are being built on Front Street in the Fishtown and Kensington neighborhoods. This housing boom is all happening near the noisy Market-Frankford train line, which has experienced a sharp decline in riders since the pandemic. Host Trenae Nuri chats with Jake Blumgart, real estate reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer, about what’s attracting developers to these neighborhoods and whether these new apartments could attract more Philadelphians back on SEPTA.