ABOUT AWF > History

AWF was one of the first community development corporations in Philadelphia. Originally known as the Allegheny West Community Development Project, we were started in 1968 by Paul Kaiser, then head of the Tasty Baking Company. Later incorporated and renamed the Allegheny West Foundation, we were formed in response to de-industrialization and suburban flight in Allegheny West, where Tastykake’s first large-scale production facility was built in 1923 during Philadelphia’s manufacturing boom.

As many homes and businesses in the area around the Tasty factory became vacant due to the loss of the neighborhood’s manufacturing base, subversive real estate tactics and the ensuing population loss, the signs of economic downturn—physical deterioration and blight—became difficult to ignore.

Seeing the deteriorating conditions of the neighborhood around him, Mr. Kaiser was faced with an important decision: relocate the company outside of the city—following many other companies—or stay and make a concerted effort to help stabilize and improve the neighborhood. Tasty chose to stay, and helped form AWF.

The Allegheny West Community Development Project, initially administered by the Greater Philadelphia Foundation—the charitable arm of the Chamber of Commerce—was a comprehensive community development project aimed at addressing multiple areas of community life, from education and job support to housing development. Mr. Kaiser hired Phillip Price Jr. to direct AWF. A Philadelphia attorney, Mr. Price believed deeply in the importance of taking action to save quickly declining urban neighborhoods.

Throughout AWF’s history, the state’s Pennsylvania Neighborhood Assistance Act—designed to give tax credit to companies that participated in the rehabilitation or maintenance of declining neighborhoods—has helped make Tasty’s effort to save the Allegheny West neighborhood and keep their production facility in North Philadelphia possible.

With the passing of the act in 1971, and an expansion of its benefits shortly after, Tasty was able to get important tax incentives for its community development efforts. This enabled the company to increase the operating budget of the Allegheny West project, which in turn supported an increase in the scale of housing development activities and community services.

Since AWF's inception, the president and CEO of Tasty Baking Co. has served the foundation as chairman of its board. The strong leadership and support of Paul Kaiser, Nelson Harris, Carl S. Watts and current President and CEO Charles P. Pizzi has played a crucial role in the success of AWF's community development efforts.

Under Mr. Price’s direction, AWF became the collaborative effort it is today, bringing together government, corporations and community members to achieve shared goals. After spending a considerable amount of time walking through the neighborhood, talking to people and gathering information, Mr. Price established three important guidelines in 1969 for the new organization:

All renewal and improvement programs should benefit the residents only
As many residents as possible should have the chance to become actively involved in the planning and execution of the programs developed during the course of the project
The operation of the various programs should be turned over to area leaders at the end of the two-year trial period with only supportive help thereafter from the company

Mr. Price felt the organization needed to have an impact in four areas: education, jobs and income, housing and land use, and environment. He felt AWF should focus on:

Improving educational, small business and housing opportunities and recreational and medical facilities neighborhood-wide so the residents and their children could live, grow and develop with dignity
Initiating programs at the block and neighborhood levels that demand individual involvement and replace detachment with pride

Shortly after the release of 1970 census data statistics showing drastic changes in the racial composition, age, education level and employment of residents, Mr. Price remained certain AWF’s goals should remain:

To encourage the present Allegheny West residents to remain in the area by helping them to make improvements to their properties, neighborhoods and community through various resident organizations
To improve the quality of the environment with help from industry and schools, providing more job opportunities, improved recreation outlets, the elimination of blight through rehabilitation of derelict houses and the conversion of vacant lots into useful parks

During these early years, the Allegheny West project’s rehabilitation contractor, Walt Evans, developed a creative and innovative housing development strategy that replaced vacant row homes with structures that matched the style of the remaining homes on the block at low cost. The tactic proved successful and the building style—which gives renovated blocks the appearance of solidarity and stability that typical low-cost housing development does not—protected property values. AWF has continued to develop rental and for-sale properties in this manner.

In 1974, Mr. Kaiser separated Allegheny West from the Greater Philadelphia Foundation and the organization became the Allegheny West Foundation, an independent entity. AWF was then able to reach out more effectively to neighborhood businesses that were excluded prior to the incorporation, including executives of other local corporations, city agencies and civic groups.

In 1978, Mr. Price was elected to the state Senate and resigned as AWF director, remaining on the board of directors. Denise Chapline, an experienced community development worker, succeeded him as director shortly after his departure, and expanded the funding base of the organization to include foundation support from the William Penn Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts, in addition to continuing large-scale housing development. She also expanded the capacity of the organization to address more quality-of-life issues.

In 1984, Ms. Chapline, with the help of Mr. Price, new Economic Development Director Steve Lazin and funding from Pew, initiated economic development activities on the North 22^nd Street Commercial Corridor, a formerly bustling retail district that had suffered enormous decline due to the creation of suburban shopping malls. AWF established what is now an ongoing relationship with the North 22^nd Street Merchant’s Association to work toward the area’s redevelopment, with excellent results and few vacancies remaining today.

Mr. Price returned to AWF in 1988 as director, focusing increased energy on improving the public school system and creating jobs for neighborhood residents. He resigned in 1994 to serve as the executive director of the Philadelphia Plan, which seeks to replicate the Allegheny West concept on a broader scale, with 10-year commitments from major Philadelphia corporations to support the revitalization of selected inner-city neighborhoods. He was followed by John Taylor, former director of human resources at the Budd Company plant on Hunting Park Avenue. Ronald Hinton Jr. assumed the leadership role in 1997.