There’s a minimall planned for West Cecil B. Moore Avenue in North Philadelphia. It will only be a few food shops, but to 50 Philadelphia kids, it’s the mall of dreams.
It was they who planned the businesses that will go in it, designed the look of the building and will be the entrepreneurs who make it go.
“This mall will be a future landmark of our generation’s success and a role model for other kids,” said Gary Peterson, 19, a student from Community College Philadelphia who is involved in the project.
The Youth Mini Mall project, as it’s called, is sponsored by the Philadelphia Commercial Development Corp., a city agency that develops neighborhood businesses, in partnership with the City Wide Improvement and Planning Agency, which organizes youth educational leadership programs.
The plan is called Project MONEY-Minority Outreach Networking Enterprising Youths-and involves 50 students (25 architecture and 25 business) from CWIP, said William Mackey, CWIP executive director.
The architecture students made a sketch of shops, including Seafood, Grillworks and Cheesesteak, Deli and Bakery, he said.
Valerie Lawrence, a business student and graduate of Temple University’s Small Business Center training, is in charge of inventory. She also helped design the deli section and find the location for the shops.
“When the mall opens, it will motivate the youths to get into the program and put their ideas to use,” Lawrence said.
The students are being trained at the Small Business Development Center and Temple’s School of Architecture. They are working at CWIP and interning at PCDC.
The shops will create a youth business zone in North Central Philadelphia, targeting schools, churches, recreation centers and special events, Mackey said.
The mall will be located in a three-story, 6,000-square-foot building. PCDC officials will be senior managers of the stores; the business students will be junior managers; and the architecture students will design and repair the shops.
“The youths will benefit by getting resources and future business planning,” Mackey said.
Peterson, who also received training from the Small Business Development Center, is responsible for finding potential investors.
“What motivates me in the project is to gain more experience,” he said. The mall’s sketch was presented to the president of PCDC at the youth entrepreneurship conference June 16.
“The mayor was also pleased with the plan and donated $1,000 for the conference,” Mackey said.
CWIP is setting its sights on a 1995 grand opening for the mall, but it needs to raise about $300,000 for that to happen.
The money will be used to rehabilitate the building, install equipment and pay the students working on the project.
State Rep. Andrew Carn, D-Philadelphia, donated $5,000, and 10 business students will work at PCDC to raise $45,000 from corporate donations. They will also learn financing, marketing and business planning.
“The state Department of Health is donating surplus equipment for the mall,” Mackey said.
Equipment will include refrigeration, cooking grills, deep fryers and cash registers.
Shirley Kitchens, director of constituent services for City Council President John Street, will help find funds for the mall, Mackey said.
Peterson hopes the mall will draw publicity and send a message to youths that by “working hard, you don’t have to live the fast life.”
“With the mall’s success, I can show my kids with hard work you can overcome bad things,” Peterson said.
Profits from the mall will go in a trust fund in PCDC for future student business loans.
To qualify for those loans, students will need at least an associate’s degree with experience from the mall, Mackey said.
“This project will help bring back businesses to the neighborhood and develop a model program,” he said.
The mall will be a place in which business seminars and events will take place, and shops will employ only students from CWIP.
“There are ideas of speaking with health partners in opening a small youth clinic,” Mackey said.
Meanwhile, 15 business students will work on a feasibility study.
The architectural students will work on a detailed layout plan for a preliminary model due by the end of the summer, Mackey said.
“The impact of the project will cause a domino effect,” Mackey said.
