The Park at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

closed

The Park's Landing vision began with a master plan for the Central Delaware region in 2011. The City of Philadelphia completed a $10 million study on the project in 2016, and in 2017, Mayor Jim Kenney proposed a $90 million budget to fund capping Interstate 95 (I-95), which would include covering the highway with 11.5 acres of green space. The park will stretch from Front Street to the Delaware River and Chestnut to Walnut Streets, connecting the City of Philadelphia to the waterfront. It will include a 2-mile extension to the Delaware River Trail from Spring Garden Street to Washington Avenue and extend the South Street Bridge to connect pedestrians with the waterfront. The park will include a new skating rink, water features, a café, play areas, accessibility to public transit, and food trucks. On top of the City's contribution, State and private donors will contribute an additional $225 million for the project. In 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the William Penn Foundation agreed to contribute $100 million and $15 million, respectively. The project's first work began in 2017 when Philadelphia's waterfront manager removed concrete highway ramps between Market and Chestnut Streets. The Delaware River Waterfront Corporation selected the Durst Organization as the lead developer. Design, permitting, and construction documents are scheduled for completion in 2021. The new park is slated to break ground in 2021. It will incorporate several elevation changes, crossing over I-95 and Columbus Boulevard, connecting to Walnut and Chestnut Streets, and descending to the river's edge. Its design will allow for solid interaction with new private development at its northern and southern edges and accommodate street traffic, surface transit, bicyclists, and pedestrians. The tilted portion of the park is expected to accommodate structured parking below the park surface. Once the park is completed, it is expected to generate $1.6 billion in revenue for the City, local school district, and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

High