Design : Development News

The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) has announced the winner of a recent design competition, Uncover the Green, in which university-level art students were challenged to develop a decorative medallion to appear near the city's green infrastructure projects. Tyler School of Art student Lauren Hoover came out on top.
 
The students were also tasked with designing a new manhole cover for the city. As with the medallions -- which will be inset into city sidewalks -- PWD hopes the eye-catching manhole covers will spotlight green infrastructure projects.          
 
The competition was developed as a visibility effort for PWD's Green City, Clean Waters plan, a $2.4 billion initiative to manage the area's watershed and control its sewer overflow for the next 25 years. 

Accoding to PWD's Tiffany Ledesma Groll, "no other city is investing in green infrastructure in the way that Philadelphia is." 

"We want to make sure the city's investments in green infrastructure are visible, because our stormwater trees look like regular trees, and our rain gardens -- they look like gardens," she explains. "We needed to figure out a way to make them stand out."

The city hopes to have the medallions fabricated and in the ground within a year -- they may eventually appear next to every green infrastructure project in the city, according to Groll. (Currently, 756 such projects have been completed or are in-progress.) Due to cost restrictions, it's unclear when the newly-designed manhole covers will be produced. 

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Tiffany Ledesma Groll, Philadelphia Water Department
 

Philadelphia's extraordinary Mural Arts Program, currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, is known citywide for its colorful work. More than 3,600 murals have been produced since Mayor Wilson Goode hired artist Jane Golden to head the program in 1984.  
 
According to Golden, over the past five years the organization has become especially interested in "gateway projects" -- artworks situated at exit and entrance destinations, such as airports, interstates or major intersections.

"I just think it's so important that we think about what people see when they're leaving and entering Philadelphia," she explains.
 
It was that idea that led Golden and her staff to begin a three-year courtship with Katharina Grosse, the celebrated Berlin-based contemporary painter responsible for Mural Arts' latest large-scale gateway project, psychylustro, which was recently constructed along a stretch of Amtrak's Northeast Rail Corridor between 30th Street Station and North Philadelphia Station.     
 
Reminiscent of the grand outdoor projects that have turned artists like Christo and Jeanne-Claude into household names, psychylustro (pronounced psyche-LUSTRO) consists of a three-mile series of seven different color-drenched installations. There are warehouse walls, building façades and random stretches of green space, all meant to be viewed from the window of a moving train.
 
"We really want people to see what we see," says Golden, referring to the industrial, ruined, stunning sites that have been transformed by pops of Grosse's color. "We see the deterioration but we also see the beauty; we see the history; we see Philadelphia’s past."
 
Visit the Mural Arts website for a project map, details about viewing the works from various city bridges, and information about the mobile audio component that accompanies psychylustro.
 
Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Jane Golden, Mural Arts Project
 

Sometimes you see a rendering that just makes your heart leap -- that was the case with these recently released conceptual drawings for Penn's Landing that appeared on PlanPhilly.

Currently cut off from Center City by a combination of I-95 and busy Columbus Boulevard, the Delaware Waterfront remains woefully underused. Recent projects such as the Race Street Pier have drawn tourists and residents to its banks, but this new plan would remove a huge emotional and visual barrier while providing flexible space for picnicing, exercising and general frolicking. 

The project, being sheparded by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, would also include riverfront residential and commerical development to keep the area lively outside of holidays and weekends -- plus, you need a place to stock that picnic basket. The jewel of the plan, an 11-acre park, would stretch from Front Street to the river, ending in a large public space featuring an amphitheater.

Of course, something like this doesn't come cheap, but integrating infrastructure improvements increases funding options. Then there's the economics benefits of developing such an underserved stretch of prime real estate. Here's PlanPhilly:

The current cost estimate for the plan, which includes capping I-95 and Delaware Avenue between Chestnut and Walnut with an 11-acre park: $205 million in public investment.

That large number would normally be discouraging, noted [Central Delaware Advocacy Group] Vice Chairman and Old City resident Joe Schiavo. But he didn't think so after hearing about the financial concepts behind the plan. "The notion here is a lot of the work that needs to be done is infrastructure," he said. "It involves roadways, and as such funding is available through transportation budgets." The $205 million is for the public space and infrastructure only. The idea is that investment would spur the private parts of the development – the residences, restaurants, shops and the like – to the tune of $800 million or even $1 billion. "It's a very good ratio, he said.

Though there is still a lot to be figured out -- including what to do with current tenants such as The Chart House and The Independence Seaport Museum -- the enthusiasm is palpable.

"It's just absolutely marvelous," said Richard Wolk who represents Queen Village to PlanPhilly. "I went home said to my wife, 'This is going to the renaissance of Philadelphia. This is going to make people want to come to the river, and make us a first-rate city.' Because every first-rate city has a first-rate waterfront."

A presentation to the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation board is scheduled for April 25. Check out PlanPhilly's whole report here.

Source: PlanPhilly
Writer: Lee Stabert

Michael Harris has been executive director of the South Street Headhouse District -- the city's second-oldest business improvement district -- for two years now. One of the first things that struck him about the historic stretch of South Fourth Street known as Fabric Row -- which runs between South and Catherine Streets -- was the dated and run-down feel of the strip.

"There are certain basic streetscape elements that are lacking down there," says Harris. "Like trash cans, pedestrian lighting, and places to sit."
 
Harris was also struck by the fact that many of the new businesses and contemporary boutiques moving into the area are investing in their own properties. Meanwhile, the public elements of Fabric Row, he says, "don't really reflect all the good things that are going on."

And so, along with the Community Design Collaborative, Headhouse District put together a conceptual design for Fabric Row that includes streetscape improvements -- park benches, planters and pedestrian-level lighting, for example. The plan also calls for building façade renovations, an aspect of the project Harris hopes to have funded via the Department of Commerce's Storefront Improvement Program.   
 
Because construction funds for the proposed improvements haven't yet been raised, there's no official timeline for the plan. At the moment, Headhouse District is still rolling it out to the street's stakeholders and attempting to gauge interest.

"There's a tremendous energy going on along Fourth Street right now," says Harris, adding that Fabric Row today has an amazing mix of businesses both brand-new and generations old. "What we're trying to do is to draw that identity out, and make it more apparent."

Source: Michael Harris, South Street Headhouse District
Writer: Dan Eldridge

Philadelphia, like all cities, is in a constant state of evolution. This moment, in particular, feels charged with change -- fins, limbs, eyes are spouting all over the place.

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission has revealed details about the buzzed-about Comcast Innovation & Technology Center, the corporation's second skyline-altering tower. Curbed Philly covered the annoucement, and compiled this list of essential facts:

- 59 floors, 1,121 ft
- 1,321,921 square feet of office space
- 242,680 square feet of hotel space (222 rooms over 12 floors)
- 3,483 square feet of retail space
- LEED Gold or Platinum certification (anticipated)
- 126-foot glass blade at top
- Concourse connection to Comcast Center and Suburban Station
- 47 total bike racks on Arch Street/Cuthbert Street
- Ground floor bike shower/changing room
- 21 total outdoor benches
- 20 percent water use reduction
- 3-story office skygardens
- 70 underground parking spaces
- Open to the public from at least 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily

In another exciting development, 1 percent of the total construction costs will be spent on art in public spaces. Click here for a review of the entire project.

As all this was breaking, another big deal went down. Bart Blatstein -- who is already working on a transformative project at Broad and Washington -- has purchased a large lot on the Delaware Waterfront, between Tasker and Reed Streets. In a funny narrative twist, Blatstein actually owned the property 21 years ago, before selling it to Foxwoods as a potential casino site. That plan obviously never came to fruition. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The late Edmund Bacon, born in Philadelphia during the summer of 1910, is a man whose name is synoymous with local architecture and urban planning. Former Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell will speak on that very subject on February 18 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where he'll also be awarded with the 8th annual Edmund N. Bacon Prize from the Philadelphia Center for Architecture.
 
According to David Bender, associate director of the Center, the annual Ed Bacon Prize is awarded to a professional who has achieved a significant amount of success in urban planning, development and design. (Paul Goldberger, an architecture critic for The New Yorker, and Robert A.M. Stern, dean of the Yale School of Architecture, are both past recipients.)
 
Rendell's achievements, Bender explains, were largely transportation-related, such as his proposal to add tolls to the Pennsylvania-wide Interstate 80. Investment in transportation infrastructure, Rendell once said, is vital to America's economic competitiveness, and is "the best job creator we have for well-paying jobs and also to help American manufacturing."
 
The student winners of the annual Better Philadelphia Challenge will also be honored during the event. This year's Challenge, which is held in honor of Bacon, asked design and architecture students worldwide to imagine a future Philadelphia landscape populated with the sort of self-driving vehicles currently being designed by Google. A $5,000 award will go to the first prize winner. 

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: David Bender, AIA Philadelphia 

Following a months-long negotiation process with the city's Historical Commission and various preservation groups, Center City's Boyd Theatre might finally be ready to come alive again.  

Roughly two years ago, Florida-headquartered iPic-Gold Class Entertainment first showed interest in developing one of its high-end movie theaters at The Boyd, which opened in late-1928 as a silent film theatre (it closed for good in 2002). And while, in 2008, local preservationists managed to have the Boyd added to the Historical Commission's list of "protected assets," iPic has made a controversial choice: It asked for the Commission's blessing to completely gut the Boyd's auditorium, claiming the project wouldn't otherwise make financial sense. (The building's façade, its marquee and entranceway would all be restored under iPic's plan.) 

"The plan to totally restore [the Boyd] into its original state inside -- to make it either a one-screen movie theatre or a Broadway-type theatre -- those plans are all $30 to $50 million," says Kirk Dorn of Ceisler Media, which manages iPic's PR. "And you couldn't get the revenue from the theatre to produce that ."
 
On February 14, iPic will present its development plan -- two stories consisting of eight small theaters with reserved stadium seating, in-theatre dining and in-theatre waitstaff -- to the city's full commission. An onsite restaurant is also in the picture, and assuming iPic receives a "yes" vote on Valentine's Day, "We're hoping to open sometime in 2015," says iPic general counsel Paul Safron. 

"We're still willing to work with the preservation community," adds Safron. "We're happy to incorporate some of the design concepts and elements if we can."

Update: On February 12, we were informed by Kirk Dorn that the Philadelphia Historical Commission has postponed iPic's full commission hearing for one month; it's now scheduled for March 14. 

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Kirk Dorn, Ceisler Media and Paul Safron, iPic Entertainment 

If you walk the length of East Passyunk Avenue in South Philly -- and end up at the convergence of the Avenue, South Broad and McKean -- you'll see a nondescript slab of concrete that extends outward from the United Savings Bank building. The triangle points westward across Broad, as if directing pedestrians to the Philly Pretzel Factory across the street.

That will soon change. An exciting development is in the offing for that small stretch of concrete -- currently dubbed the East Passyunk Gateway project. Last week, in a small conference room at the old St. Agnes Continuing Care Center on South Broad, Sam Sherman, executive director of the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation (PARC), publicly unveiled the plans, which include a small splash fountain; concrete bench seating and chess-playing tables; various architectural lighting elements; shade trees and street-level planters; and a permanent sound system to accommodate events. The transformation will be possible thanks to a $495,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation. 

And those are just a small handful of the plaza's intended perks. There are also plans for a small, trellis-roofed area that the plaza's designer, landscape architect Bryan Hanes, refers to as "an iconic piece of furniture where events could happen," and where food carts or other vendors could set up shop. There is also talk of a bike-sharing station -- potentially the city's first.

The goal is to break ground on the plaza sometime this May or June. With the project's build-out estimated at six months, there's a possibility that the East Passyunk Gateway could be open for business as early as this fall. 

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Sam Sherman, Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation (PARC) 

Thanks to a recently-formed partnership between the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (BCGP) and the City's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, local cyclists -- especially those who ride into Center City on a regular basis -- will have at least 10 new places to lock up this summer. 

BCGP applied to the Knight Arts Challenge, a contest aimed at beautifying public spaces. "We were one of the 43 winning proposals selected back in May, along with a lot of other great projects of varying size and scope," says BCGP's Nicholas Mirra. 

That application consisted of about a dozen designs for site-specific, artist-created bicycle racks. One particularly unusual rack, constructed from stainless steel with room for four bikes, resembles a patch of waist-high grass. Another rack, this one with space for six bikes, is a minimalist sculpture featuring three life-size guard dogs. 

The Knight Foundation's $50,000 grant was predicated on the two partner organizations' ability to raise matching funds. That goal was accomplished via anonymous donations and money offered by the half-dozen or so institutions scheduled to host the racks on their properties. And while negotiations for a few locations are still in progress, the artist-designed racks are set to arrive this summer outside of City Hall, Sister Cities Park, Boathouse Row, Café Pret, Penn Center Plaza and the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Perlman Building.    
 
And for those who suggest that the city already has more than enough parking for two-wheeled riders, Mirra offers this retort: "There aren't enough. If you look around sections of Center City, the spaces for bicycle parking are as full as the spaces for car parking. And so you get bikes parked to trees, [and] parked to private fencing where they're not supposed to be. There's [simply] not enough bike parking in the city."

Fortunately, that's about to change.

Source: Nicholas Mirra, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia 
Writer: Dan Eldridge

At a press conference hosted last week at Sahara Sam's Oasis in West Berlin, N.J., representatives of the five-year-old water park announced an upcoming project that will be followed as closely by the area's elementary school set as it will by their parents. A construction-themed adventure park known as Diggerland USA will be built on a 14-acre footprint directly behind Sahara Sam's. 

Though there are currently four locations in the United Kingdom, Diggerland USA will be the first park of its kind in this country. Sahara Sam's, which is overseeing the construction, is projecting an opening date in early-summer 2014. The project received approval at a late-November planning and zoning board meeting in Berlin Township. The Girlya family, which owns both Sahara Sam’s and South Jersey’s Sambe Construction Company, will build the park; they have already broken ground.

"The Township of West Berlin -- the City Council, the Council members -- have been very supportive [of the project]," says Sahara Sam Director of Marketing Chris Peters. "West Berlin itself is not necessarily a very dense area," he adds, though because the park will be located roughly 90 minutes from Manhattan and across the bridge from Philadelphia, "this has been looked at as a great location for an expansion of an entertainment venue [of this sort]."

Twenty-three separate rides and attractions (most of them made of "modified JCB heavy construction pieces," according to a release) will be on offer when Diggerland USA opens its South Jersey gates. Faux construction machinery designed for child and adult use alike will range from small excavators and dumpers to backhoes and tractors. The park will also sport a ropes course and rock-climbing area. 

Source: Chris Peters, Sahara Sam's Oasis 
Writer: Dan Eldridge

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to redevelop three lots along Chestnut Street. Chestnut Street has long experienced some difficulty attracting and retaining businesses and storefronts. However, as previously reported in Flying Kite, successful residential communities have sprung up along the street in recent years.

Accoring to PHA President and CEO Kelvin Jeremiah, PHA has received several inquiries about the location in question, a vacant four-story building at 2012 Chestnut, and adjoining parcels formerly used for parking at 2014 and 2016 Chestnut. Executive offices in the four-story building relocated more than three years ago, and it has been unoccupied since. 

At a time when retail development is growing in the district, it is important to mitigate vacancies.

"It's in the best interest to redevelop this property to help maintain a vibrant, healthy atmosphere in Center City," says Jeremiah.

Proposals for 2012, 2014 and 2016 Chestnut Street may include the demolition or rehabilitation of the current building at 2012 Chestnut. Mixed-use, office, commercial and residential use will all be considered for the project; the winner will best utilize all three lots.

Under the terms of the RFP, PHA will continue to own the ground at the site, leasing it to the developer. The developer will finance, plan, design, construct, own and operate the building or buildings. 

Because the site is located in the Center City West Commercial Historic District, the winning developer must also comply with the historic review process. 

The deadline for submitting proposals is February 7, 2014; PHA plans on awarding a development contract in May 2014.

Writer: Nicole Woods
Source: Kelvin Jeremiah, Philadelphia Housing Authority

Nostalgia opened its doors on October 19, right off South Street at the former site of Passional in Queen Village. The boutique could be easily mistaken as just another high-end consignment shop, but owners Rafael Rosado, Arielle Salkowitz and Danielle DiRosa position Nostalgia as an dynamic retail experience.

"Our idea was to bring back classic Americana style and mix it with quality accessories," says Salkowitz. "We wanted to create a lifestyle store that brings back positive memories."

The trio cultivates Nostalgia's brand through a combination of vintage items and contemporary American-made clothing. Salkowitz's own line of 1950s-inspired rockabilly gear, Earl Salko, is sold along with infinity scarves by DiRosa and original pieces from other local designers. Rosado's curated vintage collection includes a 1960s-era elementary school desk and a large selection of vintage eyewear.

Although Nostalgia's vintage wares are most prominently displayed in its display window, Earl Salko is the store's X-factor. Salkowitz created the line after graduating from Philadelphia University in 2011. Her inspiration for the collection was 1940s motorcycle clothing. The line includes pants, jackets and dresses riffing on 1950s circle skirt dresses (a perfect match for those denim jackets). 

Salkowitz sews much of Earl Salko's collection by hand; the denim items are manufactured at a factory in Kensington. Until Nostalgia opened in October, she primarily sold items through Etsy and at local markets, including last summer's Brooklyn Flea at the Piazza. 

As Rosado assisted Salkowitz at vending opportunities over the last two years, he began building his vintage collection. All the pieces gelled in September when DiRosa spotted the vacancy left by Passional. 

"The store is in a great location, so we knew it was a great opportunity," says Salkowitz. "The area gets a lot of foot traffic and you can see the storefront when you round the corner from 3rd street onto Bainbridge. We all wanted to stay in South Philly, and Queen Village is a great area." 

The team signed the lease in late September, and managed to open Nostalgia in three weeks. The store's design complements the inventory: the shelving, clothing racks and furniture are all repurposed, including a large showcase made from an antique gun display Rosado found on Craigslist.

Nostalgia, 704 S. 5^th St., Philadelphia

Writer: Nicole Woods
Source: Arielle Salkowitz, Nostalgia

From November 20 through 22, the world's largest conference dedicated to green building practices will take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center with the Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC) as official host. Greenbuild 2013 marks the conference's 20th year. 

DVGBC's Heather Blakeslee believes that Philadelphia was chosen to host GreenBuild's anniversary year because of the Pennsylvania Convention Center's expansion and upcoming LEED certification. In addition, the region has become a hotbed for innovative sustainable architecture and design.

In an attempt to extend the event's impact on the region, DVGBC issued a challenge in May 2012, asking local businesses to "green" themselves in practical, quantifiable ways by November 2013. These pledges are now showcased in a public exhibit at the Independence Visitor Center Corporation and will be highlighted at Greenbuild.

"We really wanted to put together a program that would allow the larger sustainability community to participate in the lead-up to Greenbuild," says Blakelee. "Any agency, school, business or residential community who wanted to participate could do so. We received 150 pledges from around the region." 

Other free community events surrounding Greenbuild include a "Community-based Sustainability Forum" on Wednesday, November 20 (9 a.m. – noon); "Neighborhoods Go Green! Scaling up Sustainability Exhibit Opening" on
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 (6 - 7:30 p.m.); and a "Faith-based Professional Peer Group" on Thursday November 21 (9 – 11 a.m.).

Stay tuned: Flying Kite will have a full report from Greenbuild 2013 in an upcoming issue.

Writer: Nicole Woods
Source: Heather Blakeslee, DVGBC

Every week brings news of another exciting development along the Delaware River. In May, Flying Kite reported that the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DWRC) had plans to create a park at Pier 53 called Washington Avenue Green, which would have similar uses to the Race Street Pier, but with a more "ecological twist."

At the end of October, DRWC hosted an official groundbreaking ceremony for Washington Avenue Green. Mayor Michael Nutter attended, and DRWC President Tom Corcoran officially opened the site for construction.

DWRC's Lizzie Woods said the park will help grow the local economy, especially the adjacent Washington Avenue corridor.

"The underlying philosophy of all DRWC public works projects is that investing in a quality public realm provides incentives to and increases the value of private development," says Woods. "A successful park at Pier 53 will help spur development at sites along Washington Avenue, especially the Sheet Metal Workers Union Hall and the site of the former Foxwoods Casino."

When Flying Kite last reported on Pier 53, three elements of the park's design were unfunded: an elevated boardwalk allowing visitors to pass over the wetland habitat below; a "welcome spire" at the entrance; and public art by artist Jody Pinto titled "Land Buoy," a 55-foot spire that responds to the wind and sun. Fortunately, DWRC has since raised the necessary funds and the park will feature all of the desired design elements. 

Other features will include panoramic views of the Delaware River and Center City; a path allowing visitors to reach the tip of the pier and touch the water; interpretive signage relating the site's history as the nation's first navy yard and an immigration station. Construction is expected to be completed in summer 2014.

Writer: Nicole Woods
Source: Lizzie Woods, DWRC

Washington Avenue, long a snarl of trucks, pedestrians, vendors and cars heading to I-95, is getting a makeover. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) is halfway through a study of the bustling corridor and plan to reveal a new roadway configuration after the new year. 

In late October, PCPC held their first public meeting to discuss the plan. 

"We had great turnout at the meeting," says PCPC South Philadelphia and transportation planner Jeannette Brugger. "People are very passionate about what happens on Washington Avenue -- it's a very complicated project because there's so much going on on the avenue."

People reserved their strongest input for the section around the Italian Market. It's a stretch of Washington with high foot traffic, and also an area where the bike lane briefly stops (before reappearing at 7th Street). One bicyclist or pedestrian is injured every three weeks due to a crash. Making the bike lane continuous is definitely going to happen, but there are multiple options for how to integrate loading, parking and traffic (you can view all the possibilities here).

"You can't fit everything in," explains Brugger. "If you fit a buffered bike lane in, you might not be able to fit the parking and loading that's needed for the success of the businesses. And that's something we definitely want to promote as well. Another thing I was surprised about, in a good way, was that a lot of folks said the street should be made safer for pedestrians, and that the road should narrowed. Safety is one of our goals in the study."

With all the exciting developments on the waterfront -- including Washington Avenue Green (formerly Pier 53) -- the eastern stretch of Washington should see more foot and bike traffic in the coming years. Though PCPC has to work within the current curb lines, there are still options for making the streetscape more inviting for those visitors. Following a second public meeting, the plans should move forward quickly.

"The goal is to put together striping plans for the Streets Department in the next year-or-two," says Brugger. "Enforcement is what's going to make this new roadway configuration actually work. That's up to Licenses & Inspections, the Parking Authority, the Police Department, the council offices. We can put new alignments down, but if business happens as usual, it won't be as successful as it should be."

Writer: Lee Stabert
Source: Jeannette Brugger, Philadelphia City Planning Commission