Mayor Michael Nutter and City
Council President Darrell Clarke have agreed to a new plan for LOVE
Park that will add green space, a new water feature and concessions for
visitors.
“The result will be a
beautiful public space that will serve the citizens, tourists and residents and
many other visitors for decades to come," said Nutter, at a press
conference at LOVE Park on Monday.
Here's more from NBC10:
Officials would also like to
open up access to the park from all four streets its bounded by -- 15th Street,
16th Street, JFK Boulevard and Arch Street -- and keep the LOVE statue as the
heart of the plaza.
"[The changes will]
bring some level of vibrancy to this park that it needs and no longer will
people have to talk about Bryant Park in New York and York Park in London.
They’re going to talk about LOVE Park in the City of Philadelphia," Clarke
said. He added that the a redesign is "long overdue." ... The city
will apply for $3 million in redevelopment money from the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania and also hopes to generate cash for the project from the sale of
the parking garage underneath the park.
Back in December, Clarke put
forth a plan to sell the parking garage underneath LOVE Park, then use the
$16.5 million from the sale to build indoor and outdoor restaurants there. At the
time, he said he envisioned 26,000 square feet of space dedicated to
restaurants.
But that idea faced criticism
by Philadelphia Parks Alliance who said it would crowd out other park uses. No renderings are
available yet on the new LOVE Park plan, according to a spokesperson for the
City of Philadelphia.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal
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