Philadelphia News Briefs: 4/14/15

1.) A quarter of all Philadelphia homeowners will be receiving notices of reassessment this week. Philadelphia Chief Assessor Michael Piper says that 125,000 households will be notified of a change in their property tax amounts, whether for better or for worse. He stated that more than half of all notices will show a decrease in taxes due to a decrease in home values. The reassessments fall in every district across the city. Piper says that there are so many reassessments due to the fact that Mayor Nutter’s AVI (Actual Value Initiative) widely generated inaccurate home values, and now they are being corrected.

2.) Philadelphia scored the #4 spot on Redfin’s Walk Score report of the most walkable cities in the United States. Long known as something of a paradise for pedestrians, the city encompasses several neighborhoods that have perfect or near-perfect Walk Scores. Philadelphia scored an average Walk Score of 76.5. That’s short of the #1 city, New York, by several points, but way ahead of other big cities like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. Philly’s Walk Score has actually increased by two points since 2011. Dickinson Narrow, dubbed the hottest neighborhood in the U.S., has a Walk Score of 92.

3.) More college grads than ever before are staying in Philadelphia after they graduate. Seventeen percent of the Class of 2014 remained in the city after donning their cap and gown – a considerable increase from the year before, when just 14% stayed. It’s been determined that, even when it comes to those students who leave, satisfaction with the city is high. Many Penn graduates are still moving to New York after graduation, but the tide seems to be turning slightly in favor of those staying close to where they got their education.