Old City / Society Hill : Development News

When Mayor Nutter endorsed Penn Praxis' Civic Vision for the Central Delaware waterfront plan in 2008, he sent the City Planning Commission and other organizations on some early action projects to get things rolling. Just two years later, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation is making the rounds with local community groups presenting renovation plans for connecting streetscapes. It turns out a waterfront proposal doesn't get very far without a way to get to the waterfront.

Delaware Avenue's dividing barrier I-95 separates Front Street from the Delaware River. But as urban decay has struck the river lands, it has also hit 47 connecting blocks, leaving pathways to the waterfront dark and uninhabitable for pedestrians. This week, DRWC held a meeting with the Old City Civic Association, unveiling improvement plans for a new Race Street, and creating a model for the 46 other blocks in need of repair.

"These improvements make Race Street an interesting place to go, not just a normal street that you walk on to get to the waterfront," says DRWC master planner Sarah Thorp. "The Race Street Connector is a perfect pilot project. We wanted to add some things that we might be able to replicate in other areas of the waterfront."

The proposal calls for painted bike lanes, lit underpasses, and an LED-illuminated pixel array, allowing for announcements and public art. The project will lead pedestrians to the Race Street Pier, a park project slated for May 2011. Tonight, DRWC hosts their second community meeting for the Delaware River master plan. With a pathway design in place, the future looks bright on the Delaware.

"One of the reasons we chose this park is because it is pretty close to the center and to areas with a ton of foot traffic, rather than starting at the ends, which are more isolated," says Thorp. "Its location toward the center of the waterfront, we feel, is a great place to start."

Source: Sarah Thorp, DRWC
Writer: John Steele

In Philadelphia, the Center City District has become a household name. With its jump-suited juggernaut keeping the streets clean and planning publications that are leading the direction of Philadelphia's potent downtown, hometown accolades are never in short supply. But it's always nice when outsiders let you know that your work matters on a national level. Last week, D.C.-based International Downtown Association announced CCD's Philadelphia Retail Marketing Alliance as the recipient for its Downtown Pinnacle Award in Marketing and Communications. Also announced last week, Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation acknowledged CCD's Public Spaces Initiative in its inaugural Bright Ideas program.

"It was an honor to be considered for this award," says Public Space Collaborative leader Bill Hughes. "Everyone in the collaborative really takes pride in what they are doing and this really validates everything that we do and the fact that we work as a team in Center City to create a positive environment."

Both projects used technology in new ways to organize varied information, helping Center City's planning and improvement efforts run more smoothly. The Philadelphia Retail Marketing Alliance created a partnership between Center City businesses, which directed all marketing resources toward the same goal. CCD created a website, PhiladelphiaRetail.com, that brings all the information needed to conduct business in Center City together in one location. With the Public Spaces Collaborative, CCD staff used handheld computers to record and map potholes, broken windows and graffiti, getting alerts to the right agencies. 

"This is another nice accolade to have under our belt," says PRMA leader Ivy Olesh. "We work with so many different landlords and developers and retailers and brokers, it's nice to say that this project is something that is nationally recognized."

Source: Ivy Olesh and Bill Hughes, CCD
Writer: John Steele

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey announced last Tuesday that Pennsylvania would receive $47 million in federal transit and infrastructure grants as part of the Federal Transit Administration's State of Good Repair program. As SEPTA updated its hybrid bus fleet two years ago, the lion's share of the funding went to Pittsburgh's Allegheny County Port Authority for a clean diesel fleet of their own. But SEPTA didn't come away empty handed, receiving $8.1 million for two infrastructure improvements a long time coming.

The first grant will revamp SEPTA's Parkside Bus Loop, helping reconnect this West Philly neighborhood. But the second, more universal improvement will aid in future upgrades. Using $6.4 million, SEPTA will install an asset management system to aid in record-keeping as many of Philadelphia's transit assets come up for repairs.

"A lot of our infrastructure dates back to the early 1900's and were taken over from other private companies," says SEPTA CFO Richard Burnfield. "What the FTA was trying to focus on is knowing what you have out there in the field before you can make an assessment as to what your overall needs are, coming up with a plan for when things should be replaced."

The system will help SEPTA keep better records so when funding is available, the authority can make a more organized, more compelling case for further federal dollars as the fleet is upgraded.

"Right now, we do a very good job of managing our assets so while the records are not as computerized as we'd like them to be, we have so much knowledge within our engineering staff that I feel we make excellent decisions," says Burnfield. "But I think this will help us going forward so we can do a second check on things as our staff reaches retirement."

Source: Richard Burnfield, SEPTA
Writer: John Steele

Along the post-industrial corridor of Northern Delaware Avenue sits an abandoned trolley garage where Philadelphia's oldest transit assets were once serviced. So when architectural salvage firm Provenance decided to relocate to accommodate more retail customers, they couldn't think of a better location than a garage that once restored rolling symbols of Philadelphia's past.

"We feel that a lot of the material that is pulled out of the city is part of the fabric that makes this city cool," says Provenance partner Scott Lash. "We're hoping that people will start looking at stuff that was probably put in other buildings at the time their buildings were built."

The team at Provenance has expanded in the last year, offering flooring and many salvaged items for home and garden projects. While the floor is still concrete and the showroom still has a warehouse feel, Lash believes the place has a much more retail feel, with more organization and better lighting, allowing easier browsing.

With the new space, Provenance hopes to offer home improvement classes and First Friday events, like the Happy Hour they hosted on October 1. Making connections in the tight-knit Northern Liberties neighborhood, Lash believes, will stimulate foot traffic and draw not only DIY weekend warriors but also artists and designers looking for vintage pieces and custom home projects.

"We hope to be doing art work in our space on a permanent basis," says Lash. "We want to display painting, old architecture and elements from buildings we've torn down because we feel like that brings out some interesting ideas."

Source: Scott Lash, Provenance
Writer: John Steele

In science fiction novels and books about the future, a few technologies are boilerplate: flying cars, meals in pill form and the ability to teleport instantly from place to place. National commuter rail company Amtrak took another step toward teleportation on Tuesday with its announcement of a high-speed rail vision plan. In Tuesday's news conference from University City's 30th Street Station, with Governor Ed Rendell on hand, Amtrak officials laid out their goal to create a line with average speeds well over 130 mph, saving passengers between one and two hours on average.

"Amtrak is putting forward a bold vision of a realistic and attainable future that can revolutionize transportation, travel patterns and economic development in the Northeast for generations," says Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman.

The plan, entitled A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, proposes a full build-out to be completed by 2040. Its construction, Amtrak says, would create more than 40,000 full-time jobs annually over a 25-year period, building new track, tunnels, bridges, stations, and other infrastructure. Predictably, the cost for such a project is high, $4.7 billion annually over 25 years. But Amtrak's feasibility studies peg the Northeast as a "mega-region" capable of drawing the type of rail traffic to make such an investment profitable. And with some premier legislative voices like New Jersey's Frank Lautenberg and Massachusetts' John Kerry already voicing their support, we may be teleporting out of 30th Street Station sooner than we think.

"Amtrak's High Speed Rail plan will create jobs, cut pollution and help us move towards a modern and reliable transportation system network in the Northeast," said Kerry in a recent statement. "As countries around the world continue to build out their transportation systems, we
cannot afford to fall further behind. This is an important down payment on the massive commitment necessary to bridge our infrastructure gap." 

Source: Joseph Boardman, Amtrak
Writer: John Steele