Hargreaves also shows new images of how a new Penn's Landing
Park and two new waterfront neighborhoods might look; The Delaware River
Waterfront Corporation says fundraising starts immediately.
Building a four-acre park across I-95 and replacing the
mostly paved surfaces of Penn's Landing with a sloping 11 acres of additional
green and recreation space, restaurants, shops and residences, would not only
better connect Philadelphia to the Delaware River, but would turn a
$250-million public investment into $1.8 billion in economic growth, says a
feasibility study released to the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation board
Friday.
Projections say the park would eventually be framed with
1,500 new residences, 500 new hotel rooms, and 75,000 square feet of new retail
space. It would take about 35 years to fully build-out the private development,
but the improvements in the public spaces, including the big new park, would be
finished in about five to seven years.
Now comes a tricky part: Raising the $250 million.
Board members and staff at DRWC – the quasi-city agency that
manages the public land on the Central Delaware and is overseeing the
implementation of the city's vision to revamp the 6-mile stretch – said the
fundraising effort starts immediately.
They are hopeful that the findings of the study, led by
Hargreaves and Associates, will persuade those controlling the grant purse
strings at both philanthropic foundations and at city, state and federal
government agencies that funding the project is a good return on investment.
“I do view it as a true catalyst for the city of
Philadelphia as it connects Center City to the river,” said DRWC Board Chairman
Donn Scott. “But even more tremendously, is the job creation and taxes (it will
create). That is the key.”
Board Member Bill Miller – the CEO and founder of the Ross
Associates strategic communications firm – called for meetings with key groups
of stakeholders to underline that the benefits of the large project aren't just
about a more attractive waterfront, but will ripple city wide. It's important to show people this investment
will benefit city schools with tax revenue, for example, he said.
DRWC President Tom Corcoran said having the "concrete
framework" for what can be done at the river is an important milestone -
it is something to show possible investors and a way to explain to them what
their money would buy now and help bring about in the future. He also noted that
much of the project involves transportation infrastructure, and that can be
funded via governental transportation budgets.
Hargreaves' Senior Principal Mary Margaret Jones presented
the study and renderings suggesting what the future could look like to the DRWC
board at its Friday meeting. (Board
member and Planning Commisison chairman Alan Greenberger cautioned everyone
that there's an additional design step between this study and building, but
said the planning committee and DRWC likes the suggestions very much, and it's
likely the final designs would largely resemble them.)
There's a vast green lawn between Chestnut and Walnut,
carried across I-95 with a bridge-like structure. Someone walking from city to river would
experience a slight upward slope at first to allow for the roadways
beneath. The park is landscaped with
trees and crossed with walking paths. Jones said care was taken with both the
sloping and tree placement to ensure a visual, as well as physical, connection
to the river. It is broken up by spaces
designed for specific activities, including an ice rink that by summer could be
a spray-ground. There are places for activities like playing soccer and places
to just chill.
Once across the roadways, the park will slope down – in some
places more subtly than others – to the water. This would best be accomplished
with the use of fill, not a bridge-like structure, Jones said.
The entire project area is linked with a north-south
pathway, a 50-foot wide pedestrian esplanade at water's edge. Bike rental
stations and transit stops are also encorporated into the plan. At its heart,
"This is really a transportation plan," Jones said.
Many cities are cut off from their waterfronts by a highway,
and Philadelphia isn't the first to try to reunite neighborhoods and waterways,
Jones said. But Philadelphia has a rare opportunity: I-95 and Columbus
Boulevard aren't right at the water's edge. So once across those barriers,
there is substantial room not only for trails and park space, but for private
development.
The $250 million covers public investment only: The design
and building of the big cap over the highway and slope down to the water known
as Penn's Landing Park, a river-side swimming pool on a floating barge, a
concert amphitheater, the waterfront trail, and other amenities.
The idea here – and one of the driving principles behind the
waterfront master plan - is that all of
this new public realm would make private developers want to build housing,
retail and restaurants both via RFP on city owned land and on land near the
water or on the edges of the existing neighborhoods.
The plan doesn't call just for better connections between
the existing neighborhoods of Old City, Northern Liberties, Society Hill and
the waterfront. It calls for the creation of two entirely new neighborhoods:
One clustered around the basin at Penn's Landing and one at the foot of Market
Street.
The basin neighborhood would be reachable by a new South
Street pedestrian bridge, which would not only give walkers access, but with
its sculptural design serve as a gateway marker, Jones said.
Development along the basin is where the residential
building should start, Jones said. DRWC
Vice President Joe Forkin agreed it's "ready to go." It's the only
spot where private development could proceed before the infrastructure work, he
said. Jones noted the South Street Bridge and waterfront trail could also be
built with a smaller amount of funding, but noted that the bulk of the $250
million is consumed by the new park itself. Bottom line: That money needs to be
in hand before much can be done.
One significant change to the local infrastructure could
come this fall. DRWC hopes to knock down the Market Street scissor ramps,
Forkin said. The viaduct - where SEPTA operates - would remain, he said.
The first video at the bottom of this story, produced by
DRWC, features representatives from DRWC and Hargreaves' Jones discussing the
plan. It includes visuals from the study.
The video beneath that is Jones' presenation to DRWC and board
discussion. The presentation includes
more images of the proposed park and development and details on how much tax
and other revenues would be generated for each level of government and the
school system over time.
Over the next six weeks, DRWC is releasing more details
about specific elements of the study, from transportation to public realm,
private development to financial aspects.
See that here.
Source: Philly.com
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