Milestone for the Delaware waterfront

By Thomas Corcoran

Today, Philadelphians will take another step toward a more open, accessible Delaware River waterfront.

Situated below the Ben Franklin Bridge, just north of Penn's Landing, the Race Street Pier is one of the first new waterfront parks to be built in the city in decades. It's also an early sign of success for those who hope to see the Delaware waterfront fulfill its potential to be a beautiful public amenity and a source of economic vitality.

The project was planned, funded, and built by the Delaware River Waterfront Corp., a nonprofit corporation established by Mayor Nutter in 2009 to coordinate redevelopment of a six-mile stretch of the city's central Delaware waterfront. Additional funding came from the city, the commonwealth, the William Penn Foundation, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. The park was designed by James Corner Field Operations, the firm responsible for New York City's acclaimed High Line.

With its position at the center of the graceful bow of the Delaware, and with panoramic views of the river and the city, the pier will show that high-quality public spaces yield high-quality private development. Already, we have seen interest in redeveloping historic structures next to the park, and the area's landowners say it will have a positive impact on development potential.

The pier sets a new standard not only in its innovative design, but also in the role residents played in shaping it. Hundreds of Philadelphians were involved from the outset - first in the selection of the landscape architect, then in the choice of a design scheme, and finally in decisions about the types of amenities the pier should offer. This was accomplished through an intense civic-engagement process organized and supported by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Central Delaware Advocacy Group, and others.

Now that the pier has been completed, the waterfront corporation will assume responsibility for its security, maintenance, and programming, with significant help from a new civic group, the Friends of the Race Street Pier.

nolead begins

In about two months, we will also be completing a companion project known as the Race Street Connector. Its goal is to rejoin Old City with the waterfront.

Although it takes only four minutes to walk from Second and Race Streets, in Old City, to Columbus Boulevard and the waterfront, few pedestrians feel safe or welcome making the trip, which involves passing under three poorly lit viaducts. The connector project will install an artistic lighting scheme along the entire length of the viaducts, high-quality landscaping like that on the pier, and a bike path.

As with the pier, the project has engaged the Old City community in every step of the design process. The city Streets Department is helping to lead the project both financially and technically, with cooperation from the state Department of Transportation and additional funding from the William Penn Foundation.

nolead begins

The Race Street Pier and the Race Street Connector will serve as a model for bridging the gap between neighborhoods on the west side of I-95 and the waterfront at key intersections along the central Delaware.

In June, after 16 months of civic participation and outreach to waterfront interests, the waterfront corporation will unveil a draft master plan for the central Delaware and begin accepting final public input. The final master plan will be true to the principles spelled out in the Civic Vision for the Central Waterfront, an intensive effort undertaken four years ago by Penn Praxis, the planning arm of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, and involving thousands of participants.

The plan envisions a network of new public parks located at approximately half-mile intervals, connected by a waterfront trail. This public realm, which will include new streets connecting Columbus Boulevard and Delaware Avenue to the river, will help define and enhance opportunities for intensive residential and retail development on private land nearby. Those who would like to experience the type of development we're planning firsthand should visit the Race Street Pier soon.