Neighborhood volunteers first began cultivating the idea of
converting the ruins of the Reading Viaduct into Philadelphia's own elevated
park more than a decade ago.
After years of organizing, raising money, and drafting
proposals, their efforts - and those of the politicians and professional
planners who joined the cause - finally appear ready to bear fruit. Without
fanfare, the city and the state have included millions of dollars in their
latest budgets toward the first phase of the project: transforming the
quarter-mile railroad "spur" that curves through the city's
burgeoning Loft District and dead-ends onto North Broad Street.
Turning that section into a park with stunning Center City
views is just a small part of the overall vision to "green" abandoned
railroad infrastructure, transforming foreboding eyesores into amenities.
A larger, 4/5-mile section of the viaduct stretches with
fortresslike walls from Fairmount Avenue to Vine Street. Across Broad, the old
railroad line drops below street level, running through a subterranean channel
from the former Inquirer and Daily News building to Fairmount Park at Girard
Avenue.
But, for now, the focus is on the spur - which has the
advantage of being owned by SEPTA, a cooperative public agency.
The rest of the elevated viaduct remains in the hands of the
old Reading Co., a 19th-century railroad power now transformed into a
California real estate venture that owns movie theaters. The city had
conversations with the company several years ago, but nothing since.
"Before we go to them about the rest of the viaduct,
let's demonstrate that we can take that first step," said Paul Levy, chief
executive of the Center City District. "We're looking at this as sort of a
proof of concept."
Work on the spur, which would include landscaping and adding
stairs to street level, plus some environmental remediation and waterproofing
of the leaky underside, is expected to cost $8.6 million.
The city has pledged $1.8 million over two years from its
capital budget, while the state has included $3.5 million in its Redevelopment
Assistance Capital Program.
Neither sum is guaranteed, and private money will be
necessary in any case. Levy said the William Penn Foundation, which supported a
viaduct feasibility study in 2010, has pledged funding for construction but
isn't ready to reveal how much.
The project that was the inspiration for the viaduct - New
York's High Line, built on an old, elevated freight line - helped spark a
building boom on Manhattan's once-desolate West Side.
Levy and the Center City District, which serves as a
business improvement mechanism for the downtown area, became interested in the
viaduct after seeing the High Line's success.
The viaduct slices through an area between Chinatown and
Fairmount Avenue that has been growing through loft conversions and other new
housing, but remains something of a wasteland of former factories and
warehouses. Levy has referred to the neighborhood as the "hole in the
doughnut" of Center City's continued expansion.
The neighborhood activists, though, aren't waiting for
government dollars - they already have begun planning for the caring and
programming at the rail park. (Although the property would come under control
of the city Department of Parks and Recreation, some sort of partnership with a
neighborhood nonprofit is likely.)
Sarah McEneaney, an artist, and John Struble, a
furniture-maker, teamed up in 2003 to found the Reading Viaduct Project. Last
fall, they merged that organization with Friends of the Rail Park, a group
dedicated to transforming the underground section west of Broad.
The two groups joined forces after working together on a
block party to raise money for maintenance of the viaduct park. So far, they
have raised more than $70,000.
"We started out as advocates," McEneaney said.
"We know we're going to morph into caretakers."
The once-mighty Reading Railroad had been a victim of
changing times. The viaduct last carried trains in 1984, when the Center City
commuter rail tunnel opened, linking Reading's old routes into SEPTA.
But the railroad's name and legacy have lived on here, and
not just because of its spot on Monopoly boards. Reading's headhouse now serves
as the ornate Market Street frontage for the Convention Center, and the train
shed is now better known for the
Reading Terminal Market.
If the rail park is completed, the project would be another
example of Reading's antiquated infrastructure being folded elegantly into the
city's modern life.
Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger, who has supported the viaduct
project, said completing the spur should create momentum.
"It will turn out to be a great little park," he
said. "If nothing else, it will make people clamor for more."
Source: Philly.com
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