Coming Soon: Pier 53 Revisited

 On April 27, Applied Ecological Services presented their plans for the future of Pier 53. Construction will start in the fall of 2013, and is expected to be complete by the following spring. Funding has been secured for most of the project. Funding plans for a boardwalk on the south side of the pier and artwork as part of the pier are still in the works.

See: http://nakedphilly.com/pennsport/coming-soon-washington-avenue-green-phase-two/

 

Coming Soon: Pier 53 Revisited

 On April 27, Applied Ecological Services presented their plans for the future of Pier 53. Construction will start in the fall of 2013, and is expected to be complete by the following spring. Funding has been secured for most of the project. Funding plans for a boardwalk on the south side of the pier and artwork as part of the pier are still in the works.

See: http://nakedphilly.com/pennsport/coming-soon-washington-avenue-green-phase-two/

 

steve-wynn-s-latest-rendering-at-the-waterfront_c2.jpg

Weekly Update February 8-15 Philly Fringe

Transformation from pumping station to Philly Fringe

The Philly Fringe, best known for its annual festival, began tearing out old pumps and shoring up the brick structure at the corner of Race Street and Columbus Boulevard after hitting a fundraising milestone: 90 percent of the $5.2 million it will take to complete the first phase of construction. Efforts to raise an additional $1.5 million or so are under way,

The goal is to have the new 240-seat theater, studio and offices ready for this fall’s Fringe Festival (Sept. 6-21). An indoor restaurant and bar, outdoor plaza space and further building restoration will be completed by late spring 2014,

A permanent home-base will allow Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe to become more of a year-round presence in Philadelphia, with regular performances in its new theater.   Mixed visual and performance arts installations on the waterfront are possibilities, along the pedestrian and bicycle trail, and even in some of the existing strip-malls.

See:  http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/02/12/transformation-from-pumping-station-to-philly-fringe-home-begins

Penn Street Trail Continues Along River

Over the pavement and through a casino parking lot. Here’s the link: http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/01/31/construction-of-penn-street-trail-starts-next-month

Weekly Update February 1, 2013 – I-95 Park

Engineering work to begin soon for 8-acre park atop I-95

The search is on for engineers and designers to figure out how to redevelop Penn’s Landing and connect it to the city – largely with an eight-acre park that would fully cover I-95 and Columbus Boulevard between Walnut and Chestnut streets, as well as slope down to the water.

A preliminary rendering of Penn’s Landing Park extracted from the Master Plan for the Central Delaware, shows a sloping lawn, roughly the size of Rittenhouse Square, through which people could walk from Front Street down to the water’s edge, or where they could linger to watch fireworks or concerts. The park would sit on a structure that expands the existing partial cap of I-95, which covers the highway from Front to Columbus, and from Chestnut  Street just about half way to Walnut Street.

The study and design work will also examine:

• A large, mixed-use development in what is now a Market Street parking lot. Additional space would be created by removing the Market Street scissor ramp structure.
• The extension of the South Street pedestrian bridge, which now ends on the west side of Columbus Blvd., to the southwest corner of the great water basin.
• Mixed-use development, including residences and restaurant barges, in and around the basin.

This work around Penn’s Landing, Chestnut, Walnut and Market streets “is kind of the big move that is going to really connect the riverfront back to Old City,” said Karen Thompson, project manager of the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. DRWC is the quasi-city agency that oversaw the creation of the master plan, controls Penn’s Landing, and is looking for the engineers and designers to do this work.

See:  http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/01/29/engineering-work-soon-to-begin-for-8-acre-park-atop-i-95-columbus-boulevard#disqus_thread

Weekly Update December 14-21

Canal Street North developer meets with NLNA, hears concerns about noise, parking, traffic

Developer Michael Samschick met with the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association’s zoning committee about Canal Street North, his proposed development at Canal Street, Delaware and Frankford Avenues, which will include a 3,000-seat concert space, bowling alley and a country western bar and grill.  Feedback Samschick received from NLNA will be forwarded to the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, which gave conditional approval to Samschick’s Plan of Development.  The PCPC vote means Samschick doesn’t have to come back before the board for this project, but he must meet the conditions the commission outlined, which includes a letter from the registered community organizations in the project area, Northern Liberties and Fishtown.

Fishtown Neighbors had already met with Samschick about the development itself, and voted in support of it. Members are especially enthusiastic about the adaptive reuse of buildings.  But like NLNA, FNA members also have parking concerns, and Tuesday night voted 12-32 against a lot proposed for Richmond Street, and 1 to 44 against a lot proposed for Delaware Avenue.  ”The lots were voted against due to the fact that the community was not interested in having commercial uses and parking trickling into the residential section of the community,” said FNA Zoning Chair Matt Karp. “The Richmond and Marlborough street lot was the most disliked due to the need to demo existing buildings for only 49 spaces, max.”   Most of this phase of the development is in Fishtown. More of Phase II, which would begin at Laurel Street, will be in Northern Liberties.  Freedman said Samschick, who is known for not sharing much until he has secured tenants and nailed down a lot of details, didn’t say much about the second phase. “But he talked about how Phase II is just around the corner.”

See:http://planphilly.com/canal-street-north-developer-meets-nlna-hears-concerns-about-noise-parking-traffic