Lower Schuylkill Master Plan

The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation released a plan weeks ago to revive 3,700 acres of Philadelphia's Lower Schuylkill River, and industrial area that has long been home to oil refineries and scrap metal yards.  On May 21, the Philadelphia Planning Commission adopted the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan, which seeks to turn the area into a thriving manufacturing hub.

The plan calls for the creation of three campuses along the river.  An Innovation District, a Logistics Hub, and an Energy Corridor.  In addition, the PIDC envisions 46- acres of green space, including 5 miles of trails extending Schuylkill Banks park and Bartrams Gardens.

The Innovation District located in the northwest portion, will be reserved for education and research related businesses along with artisanal manufacturers.  The University of Pennsylvania's new South Bank Campus, occupying 23-acres of the new district, is already in sync with PIDC's mission for the area and is geared towards academic research and commercial endeavors.  The Logistics Hub, located south of the Innovation District and mostly on the West Banks, will provide space for distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing.  To the east, the Energy Corridor will sustain and build upon its current use as a site for oil refining by attracting additional investment.

Although the plan will develop gradually over time, the PIDC anticipates an economic impact of 463 billion and yield $860 million in private investment.  The University of Pennsylvania has  enlisted the help of local planning firm Wallace Roberts and Todd (WRT) to sketch out long and short-term objectives for the campus.  Richard King, senior associate at WRT, said that immediate planning will entail improving the street-scape to provide better connectivity between the South Bank campus and the Main campus as well as improving existing structures.

Check Out the Full Master Plan Here!

58th Street Greenway Opens

The highly anticipated 58th Street Greenway opened last Saturday after three years of planning and more than a year of construction and ongoing community involvement.  The 1.5-mile, 43.5 million trail provides a link between the Cobbs Creek Trail, Bartram's Garden and the trails beyond Southwest Philadelphia.

The greenway is a Pennsylvania Environmental Council project and is one more piece o both The Circuit and the East Coast Greenway trail network puzzles.  The Circuit aims to build and connect 750 bicycle trail miles throughout the Philadelphia region, and the East Coast Greenway is an endeavor to build a continuous 3,000-mile bicycle trail from Maine to Key West Florida.

Bartram's Mile Trail

The Bartram's Mile project continues to push forward with beautiful new renderings released earlier this week by Parks and Recreation , Andropogon, John Bartram Association, Schuylkill River Development Corporation, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, and Penn Praxis.  The plans feature lush fields and trails suitable for various outdoor leisure and athletic activities, from biking, nature watching, fishing, running, and entertainment spaces.  The plans also show new connections to Grays Ferry Crescent and its continuation of the Schuylkill River Banks Trail project.  Best of all there are plenty of natural banks along the stretch, something quite rare along Philadelphia's rivers.

USciences' Science & Technology Center II

The new 57,000-square-foot, three-story building currently under construction will showcase the latest facilities necessary for growth and expansion of collaborative clinical and professional education.  Home to USciences' Department of Physician Assistant Studies, the STC II will permit students from several disciplines, including pharmacy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy, to study, train, and interact together in a teaching and clinical environment.

In addition to simulation and clinical practice labs, patient exam rooms, lecture and classroom space, and a student lounge, the sleek, modern building will incorporate a green-roof system for sustainability. The 20,000 square-foot green roof will absorb nearly 15,000 gallons of water when fully saturated.  It is anticipated the green roof, along with the triple glazed windows and natural lighting, will earn the STC II three Green Globes from the green Building Initiative.

Parks & Rec will Unveil 4 New Parks by July 4th

In time for the Major July 4th festivities, Philly's Park & Recreation Department will have completed and unveiled four new parks to the city's public.  All four parks projects were begun with their own agendas and goals but they all share Philadelphia's Green 2015 initiatives in common.

Sister Cities Park

The first to open is a redesign of Logan Square's Sister Cities Park.   It is the final installment in a $20 million investment in streetscape improvements along Benjamin Franklin Parkway.  Lander's Point park and Grays Ferry Crescent have transformed spaces on the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers respectively.  Landers Point is the first new park on the North Delaware.  costing $1.5 million, the 4.5-acre park is an estuary restoration project developed with money awarded to the state after an oil tanker spill in 2002. The park features wetlands and an already heavily used fishing pier.

The 11 acre, $2.8 million Grays Ferry Crescent hugs both sides of a curving stretch of river near 34th and Wharton streets.  The parks feature beautiful sweeping paths  and lush meadows of wildflowers.  Eventually this park will serve as a link between the river bank trail that extends from center City, about 1.5 miles northeast, and Bartram's Garden, two miles southwest.

Grays Ferry

Lastly, Hawthorne Park which will open July 5, is a basic neighborhood park in an emerging greater Center City neighborhood.  The passive $1.6 million park design a wide swath of lawn and a central paved plaza that can double as a stage.  Oriented toward the town homes that face it, the park is situated to make the best of the skyline views just beyond them.

Hawthorne Park

Korman Residential builds 722 rental apartments

According to PlanPhilly, Korman Residential plans to build 722 rental apartments in a two-story complex on now vacant land in Eastwick, near the airport and John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

The area has been under Philadelphia Redevelopment Autority control and slated for residential development for decades under the Eastwick Urban Renewal Plan.  Korman has had the option to develop it for many years.  But the renewal plan calls for single family housing, not multi-family, so Korman needs a zoning change to build as planned.

Korman is also asking the city to strike streets, pedestrian walkways and utility rights-of-way within a 35-acre parcel bounded by Lindbergh Boulevard, Dicks Place, 86th Street and Sheckctor Place.  Last week, Korman received planning commission approval for those zoning and streets bills, bringing it a step closer to building the apartments, which project attorney Peter Kelsen described as "workforce housing, for people who move to the city to work at the airport, stadiums" or other nearby places, with rents between $1,100 and $1,450 per month.  It would be built in four phases, with completion planned for 2018.

Kelsen said building the one- and -two-bedroom apartments will cost about $102 million and create 590 jobs during construction.  After the 10-year tax abatement expires, it would generate $2.62 million in annual taz revenue for the city, and when the first phase is completed in 2013, Eastwick will have about 1,000 new residents.