Flying Kite recently
took a look at
University City District’s (UCD) study "The Case for Parklets: Measuring the Impact on Sidewalk Vitality and Neighborhood Businesses," and since then the parklet movement has only gotten bigger.
A parklet is created when a business replaces parking or other adjacent public space with a small, landscaped seating and socializing area. Past and current participants have partnered with UCD for the building and upkeep of the spaces, which typically have a single "host" business, explains UCD Capital Projects Manager Nate Hommel.
But this summer, the social and financial benefits outlined in the UCD study convinced four businesses to partner for the development, installation and maintenance of the city’s biggest parklet yet.
It’s all happening at 125 S. 40th Street (near 40th and Sansom) outside of a newly developed stretch of casual restaurants: Hai Street Kitchen (check out our look at their move to University City
here), Jake’s Sandwich Board, Zesto Pizza & Grill and Dunkin’ Donuts. The parklet, installed in the restaurants’ former loading zone and buffered from the street by attractive plantings, is over 60 feet long.
“You basically have the perfect situation for a parklet,” says Hommel -- it's what he told representatives of Hai Street Kitchen when they approached UCD about ideas for livening up their new location. Ultimately, each business was so enthusiastic about the plan that the four hosts paid for the entirety of the design, construction and installation of the new outdoor amenity. No formal study has been done on the parklet’s usage yet, but UCD staffers say the new stretch of seating is attracting lots of customers and passersby.
Shift_Design -- which also collaborated on this summer’s
Porch at 30th Street -- designed and fabricated the parklet elements this spring and summer. It was installed on July 10. Working with local manufacturers, the company specializes in repetitive modular design pieces that can be built in its shop and then installed on site. (Watch a time-lapse video of the July 10 installation
here.)
According to UCD, this parklet is also forging new ground with a bit of programming: Jake’s Sandwich Board has a jazz trio playing outside every Wednesday night -- all users can enjoy the music. The space will stay open all the way through November.
Writer: Alaina Mabaso
Source: Nate Hommel, University City District