Plan for the Central Delaware: Transforming Philadelphia's Waterfront

Columbia Ave Connector Public Meeting

sthorp — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:01:50 +0000

Columbia Ave Connector Public Meeting for final streetscape and Artist Donald Lipski’s public art proposal! March 11th, 6:30 pm, Penn Treaty Museum, 900 Columbia Ave

Washington Ave Green – 1st Public Meeting

sthorp — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:58:30 +0000

The first public meeting on the Washington Ave Green Phase 2 project was held at the Southwark House the Thursday before Thanksgiving. Around 50 people came out and engaged the DRWC, Applied Ecological Services (AES) and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) on the project details. DRWC project manager Lizzie Woods and Scott Quitel, principal and project director from AES gave an overview of current DRWC projects and a presentation on the history, current conditions and initial design concepts for Pier 53. The evening concluded with an informal information-gathering exercise, in which audience members were able to go to three different stations to express their ideas for the park. Thanks to all who attended and those who are engaged. Stay tuned for the next meeting this spring!

sthorp — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:44:39 +0000

2 Days until the Washington Ave Green Phase 2 Public Meeting!

Join us this Thursday, November 15th @ Southwark House, 101 Ellsworth Street from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. We look forward to hearing your ideas for improvements on Pier 53.

See you there!

The goals of this project are:
1. To provide public access to the pier
2. To encourage a signature design
3. Ecological restoration

Join us for a public meeting on Nov 15, 2012, 6:30-8:30 pm. at Southwark House, 101 Ellsworth Street!" width="403" height="403" />

Draft Report for Columbus Blvd/Delaware Ave Traffic Study is complete

sthorp — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 18:38:06 +0000

The Columbus Blvd./Delaware Ave. Traffic Study has been completed! Click here to download and view the draft report. It will be available for public comment until Friday, August 17th, 2012. Submit comments to Karen Thompson at kthompson@delawareriverwaterfrontcorp.com

Traffic Study Meeting Update

sthorp — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:40:49 +0000

Last night, findings from the Columbus Blvd/Delaware Ave Traffic Study were presented to the public by the principal members of the consultant group. Maps, plans and traffic and crash data were used as references. This data was used to inform recommendations that could be made to improve pedestrian, bike and vehicular traffic conditions.

Recommendations included bike lane improvements, traffic signal timing, and improved signage. You can view the PDF presentation. We will also post a draft of the final report by the end of this week for a period of public comment.

DRWC presentation 2012-07-30_REV

The Dig is Done!

sthorp — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:07:44 +0000

After two weeks of excavation and a handful of exciting finds, the preliminary phase of the dig is complete. The archaeologists will analyze the findings over the next few months and make recommendations for the next steps.

Over the last two weeks, three trenches were dug: one to uncover the bulkhead of the original shoreline and two others to search for other shipyard structures. The archaeologists found some exciting artifacts like the floor and foundations of a 19th century structure, wooden beams that could have been part a shipbuilding structure, and smaller artifacts like wooden pegs, nails, a smoking pipe and a glass bottle that point to belief that this was a shipbuilding yard. We had a lot of visitors to the site over the last two weeks, so we just want thank you for your interest and support throughout the project!

Traffic Study Public Meeting coming up!

sthorp — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:16:38 +0000

The Dig Starts Monday!

sthorp — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:57:10 +0000

The shovels are ready and we’re about start digging! The West Shipyard Archaeological Dig commences this Monday, July 16^th at the corner of Vine St. and Columbus Blvd. Archeologists are looking for the remains of the shipyard that once was located here, which predated the arrival of William Penn by six years. Excavations under this parking lot in the 1980s uncovered portions of four wharves and a slipway located on lots to the north of the shipyard. This time around we’re hoping reveal even more and we would love share this discovery with you so come and watch as history is uncovered!

Visitors are welcome to watch the work and tour the site at the following times:

- Wednesday, July 18^th 1 – 3pm

- Thursday, July 19^th 10am – Noon

- Friday, July 20^th 1 – 3pm

Additional tours may be arranged by appointment during the week of July 23-27. Call 215-629-3200 for information

Also, for more information on archaeology at the site, including updates on the current work, visit the West Shipyard blog site at westshipyard.wordpress.com

West Shipyard study-initial public meeting

sthorp — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:00:41 +0000

DRWC has hired John Milner Associates, Inc. to conduct an initial archaeological study of the West Shipyard site, located at Vine St. and Columbus Blvd. In advance of the study, we’re hosting an initial public meeting on Wednesday, June 27 at 6:30 pm at the DRWC offices. The public can learn more about the history of the site, meet the archaeological team, and find out more details about the study, including when tours of the site will be available to the public. Join us to learn more about this exciting project and understand more about the fascinating history of Philadelphia’s waterfront!

In case you missed it…

sthorp — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:43:49 +0000

It’s been a busy and exciting week here on the Central Delaware. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission UNANIMOUSLY adopted the Master Plan for the Central Delaware! We are thrilled and we thank everyone who helped in some way throughout this planning process for their work and support. To close out this week, here are a few links to just some of the coverage the Master Plan received.

This morning the Daily News published an editorial about the Master Plan, saying “…after decades of failed attempts to transform the waterfront for the benefit of all, the city has finally gained serious momentum in making that happen. The significance of this victory shouldn’t be understated: this is huge.”

Also, both the Inquirer and PlanPhilly posted extensive articles on the adoption of the plan.

And there’s still more good news! The American Institute of Architects has awarded the master plan one of its Honor Awards in Regional and Urban Design! Also, DRWC was pleased to announce the acquisition of Piers 64-70 South, made possible by a grant from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to the Natural Lands Trust on behalf of the DRWC.