Jim Martin, urban development expert and cofounder of Children’s Village, has died at 84

Jim Martin, 84, formerly of Philadelphia, longtime urban development expert, management and employee relations specialist, job training consultant, and childcare pioneer, died Wednesday, May 7, of pulmonary fibrosis at his home in Plymouth Meeting.

For 47 years, from 1964 until his retirement in 2011, Mr. Martin helped develop the Philadelphia cityscape and resolve differences between corporate managers and employee groups. He worked for the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority in the 1960s, and, as executive director of the Old Philadelphia Development Corp. in the 1960s and ’70s, collaborated with urban planner Edmund Bacon and other architects as they redeveloped Penn Center, the Gallery, Penn’s Landing, Society Hill, and other locales.

He became president of the Philadelphia Council for Labor and Industry in the mid-1970s, and, as executive director of the Philadelphia Area Labor Management Committee in the 1980s, championed workplace cooperation. He was energetic and empathetic, and he maneuvered participants through sticky contract negotiations and crisis interventions for SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and other clients.

“He leaves a deep legacy of commitment to uplifting civic causes in Philadelphia,” his family said in a tribute. His son Eugene said: “He had a way of bringing people together. He had a real affinity for the working person and could talk to anybody and make them feel warm and good.”

In 1976, Mr. Martin saw the need for a childcare center in the garment district in Center City and cofounded Children’s Village, a groundbreaking bilingual childcare and early education center for children of local business owners and workers. He served as board president at the center for years and organized innovative workshops such as the 1979 Day Care and American Family Conference that highlighted the community benefits of quality childcare.

In 2019, colleagues at Children’s Village presented him with a lifetime service award. In May, the board of directors said it is “working on establishing an endowment in his memory.”

In a recent tribute, colleagues praised his “vision of leveraging private, public, and philanthropic partnerships to support and empower working families.” They said: “Jim’s legacy lives on in the thousands of children who have received loving care and high quality early education at Children’s Village.”

He was on the board and fundraising committee at St. Malachy Catholic School in North Philadelphia, and a friend said: “There isn’t a union person in Philly or someone involved with development or Philly politics that doesn’t know Jim.”

James Robert Martin was born July 29, 1940, in Philadelphia. He grew up in Kensington and the Northeast, and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at Temple University in 1962 and, inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s focus on public service, joined the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority in 1964.

He married Arlene Severola in 1963, and they had sons Eugene and Ted and lived in Center City, Wynnefield, and Germantown. After a divorce, he married Ruth Harvey in 1990, and they lived in Roxborough. His wife died in 2011.

Mr. Martin and his wife enjoyed traveling and music, classical and folk. They had season tickets to the Philadelphia Orchestra and attended many Philadelphia Folk Festivals, and other concerts around the world.

He liked cars and motorcycles, was an avid reader, and kept up on local current events. Friends called him “gentle, generous,” and “a delightful raconteur” in tributes, and said he was “quick to laugh and rich in information.” One said: “Jim modeled what lifelong dedication to service looks like.”

“He enjoyed people,” his son Eugene said, “and was a lot of fun to be around.”

In addition to his sons, Mr. Martin is survived by his former wife, a brother, and other relatives. A brother and a sister died earlier.

A celebration of his life is to be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 12, at St. Malachy Catholic School, 1012 W. Thompson St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19122.

Donations in his name may be made to Children’s Village, 125 N. Eighth St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19106. For endowment information, contact Mary Graham at [email protected].