Prema Katari Gupta, the new head of the Center City District, is a 15-year resident of Mt. Airy who brings her Northwest experience to managing the future of Philadelphia’s downtown. She's not just an urban planner, she’s also a mother who appreciates the way her own teenager can explore the city she helps maintain.
Gupta took over for University of Pennsylvania city planning professor Paul Levy, who founded the CCD in 1991 – which has since grown into Philadelphia's most important business improvement district.
A native of Connecticut, Gupta is the daughter of …
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Prema Katari Gupta, the new head of the Center City District, is a 15-year resident of Mt. Airy who brings her Northwest experience to managing the future of Philadelphia’s downtown. She's not just an urban planner, she’s also a mother who appreciates the way her own teenager can explore the city she helps maintain.
Gupta took over for University of Pennsylvania city planning professor Paul Levy, who founded the CCD in 1991 – which has since grown into Philadelphia's most important business improvement district.
A native of Connecticut, Gupta is the daughter of Indian immigrants. She attended Bowdoin College in Maine and graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in art history. After spending nine years in fundraising at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Gupta made her way back to Philadelphia.
She is married to Anuj Gupta, owner of Jyoti, a largely takeout fast-casual South Asian restaurant in Mt. Airy. He is also former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D. Phila.) and was formerly general manager of the historic Reading Terminal Market for five years.
Since her job is to promote Center City businesses, Gupta said she often fields questions about why she doesn't live downtown.
"When I came to Philadelphia, I was living in Center City, but it was not in my price range," she explained. "Also, I am a long-distance runner. I have run in the New York, Chicago and Marine Corps Marathons, so naturally I love (the Northwest’s) Forbidden Drive.”
After moving to the neighborhood, Gupta said, she fell in love with it.
“My favorite things about Mt. Airy are the diversity, the demographics and the Wissahickon schist,” she said. “And my kids, (Leela,15 and Ren, 12) are so involved with schools and sports here, like Mt. Airy Baseball."
As in every other big American city, Center City Philadelphia was devastated by the pandemic. Gupta started her job with CCD just six days before the shutdown began. In 2019, about 89 percent of storefronts in Center City were occupied by businesses. In 2020, that figure collapsed to 40 percent during the height of the pandemic.
But the city's retail market has since bounced back, she said. In 2023, Center City storefront occupancy rebounded to 85 percent.
“The retail mix is very exciting. There are digitally native brands that started online and branched out to brick and mortar,” she said. "And there has been a demographic shift. There are lots of new apartment buildings and new young professionals, many under 30.”
The nature of work itself has evolved since Covid, she said, which has had its own impact on the city’s downtown.
"There is more expectation that people can work at least part-time at home. In many offices four days a week is common now," she explained. "The economic system downtown has shifted. Now it is more diversified. In my generation, people wanted to start their adult lives downtown. More are now living in Center City. The sidewalks are full. It feels good to be downtown."
While some express concerns about safety in Center City, citing issues with homelessness and occasional high-profile incidents such as out-of-control dirt bikers or flash mobs of unruly teenagers, Gupta takes a data-driven approach.
"I look at the crime statistics every week," she said. "There are about 400,000 people a day in Center City, and there might be one serious crime. Bad things happen everywhere, and life is risk, but on a risk-adjusted basis, you are safe downtown. I'm the daughter of an actuary, and that's just how I view things."
This confidence extends to her own family, she said.
"I let my 15-year-old daughter, who is a ballet dancer, take SEPTA to go into Center City and spend time with friends from all over the city,” she said. “It's a cool thing to be a city kid. Center City has great arts and culture, great restaurants, and more.”
Before taking the helm at CCD, Gupta served in executive positions in University City, Center City and the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia.
For more information, visit centercityphila.org. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com