How Art Can Revitalize A City. Culture is drawing people to downtowns.

"These days, people are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for housing in Center City that’s barely moved off the drawing board to the construction site. In some cases, it will be at least two years until the buyers can actually move in. The attraction, obviously, is more than just a place to live. It’s what Center City has to offer – what real estate agents call ‘the whole package.’

Residential developers are courted as a source of support for the arts in neighborhoods they are targeting for housing. And not just downtown. In many large cities, the arts are being decentralized, with smaller theaters and programs sprouting in other neighborhoods."

By Alan J. Heavens

Inquirer Real Estate Writer

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