(Read more on the debt and equity markets.)

PHILADELPHIA-Mayor John Street launched the ReStore Philadelphia Corridors program with an initial round of $21 million in funding. The program is a complement to the ongoing Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, and it was split among 36 neighborhoods.

Each was given between $200,000 and $2 million to help revitalize designated, individual commercial corridors throughout the city. The goal is "to re-establish their historic role as places to shop, work and meet neighbors," Street said during an Oct. 15 press conference. "To have a city of promise for everyone, we should make huge investments in our city, and you can't just do it in Center City."

The city encompasses more than 170 neighborhoods. The NTI program has invested more than $300 million to remove blight and demolish decaying properties in order to spur construction of affordable and market-rate housing. Thanks to that investment, Street said, "there is really no such thing as an abandoned property in Philadelphia anymore."