Delaware Avenue North: Riverfront Communities 2030 Plan

DELAWARE AVENUE NORTH: Riverfront Communities 2030

Claudia Aliff | Liyu Chen | Emily Jacobi | Emily Kennedy | Ji Qi | Xinyi Qiu | Sophia Winston

INTRODUCTION |

STRUCTURING THE PLAN |

EXISTING CONDITIONS |

Introduction 04 Site Boundaries 08 History 10 Vision 13

The Plan 16 Concepts 18 Goals 20

Land Use & Zoning 24 Riverfront 27 Demographics 28 Housing & Gentrification 30 Economy 33 Transportation Connectivity 35 Neighborhood Connectivity 38 Neighborhood Safety 43 Food Access 45 Open Space 46 Community Assets 48 Issues & Opportunities 50

14

04

52

22 RECOMMENDATIONS |

CONCLUSION |

Lower Aramingo Ave 56 Belgrade St 62 Allegheny Ave & Richmond St 68 Delaware Avenue 76 Grafitti Pier 78 Penn Treaty Park 84

Conclusion 93 Appendix 94

92

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

4

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

5

Introduction

e

ork Y w

To N

I 95 rea

A udy

INTRODUCTION

St

re

o la tim

To B 6

North Delaware Avenue is a corridor threading the outer edge of Northeast Philadelphia along the formerly industrial Delaware riverfront. Delaware Avenue connects the Northeast border of Philadelphia to Center City, running parallel to Interstate 95 (I-95) and linking the neighborhoods of Bridesburg, Port Richmond, Fishtown and Northern Liberties.

The communities along North Delaware Avenue consist of middensity residential neighborhoods with industrial and manufacturing roots. Today, the corridor functions as a barrier between neighboring residential communities and their riverfronts.

Both neighborhoods share access to dynamic corridors, fluctuating development along their riverfronts, and long-term construction along I-95. The North Delaware Riverfront Communities 2030 Plan envisions the neighborhoods of Fishtown and Port Richmond and their riverfronts reconnected through a vision of the waterfront as a communal space, reflecting and enhancing the unique identities of both neighborhoods.

This ten-year plan uses a resident-focused neighborhood framework to envision a resilient future for these two unique and contrasting neighborhoods.

7

INTRODUCTION

This plan will focus on the two neighboring communities of Fishtown and Port Richmond. Fishtown has experienced rapid gentrification of its housing stock and commercial corridors fueled by an incoming wealthy and educated young adult population. By contrast, Port Richmond has maintained its working-class roots, though the neighborhood is growing increasingly expensive for long-term residents.

INTRODUCTION 8

type of plan

name oftype focus of area plan North Delaware Avenue is a thread linking North Eastern Philadelphia to Center City. It’s position on the riverfront has historically been tied to the industrial output of the city. The communities adjacent to the corridor have developed into middensity rowhome communities, traditional historic topography of the neighborhood is emblematic of these communities today. The choice in boundaries reflects the relationship between Delaware Avenue and Aramingo Avenue as a border containing these two riverfront communities while detaching them from the rest of Kensington and NKCDC’s area of stewardship. Fishtown and Port Richmond are a study in contrasts. Fishtown has gentrified rapidly in recent years, while Port Richmond has maintained relative stability. With development reshaping the riverfront, the ways these communities manage change and growth provide an opportunity to develop a riverfront in direct service of publicly protected amenities.

9

DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES INTRODUCTION

STUDY AREA BOUNDARIES

INTRODUCTION 10

history

history

A Brief History

Prior to the 1630’s, the land where North Delaware Avenue lies belonged to the Lenni Lenape tribe, who referred to the area as Kachamensi.

Fishtown first emerged as a shipbuilding hub as central Philadelphia became overcrowded, Port Richmond, just to the North, followed in Fishtown’s footsteps. By the 1880’s, the site had modern amenities such as electrified trolley cars and sewage systems, primarily along Aramingo Avenue, which was formerly a creek. Both neighborhoods received waves of Eastern European immigrants throughout its industrial history, attracting workers to jobs powered by the natural resources of the area.

The neighborhoods faced decline as the world began modernizing and people move to suburbs.

11

INTRODUCTION

After the 1630’s, Swedish colonists began settling in the two neighborhoods along the Delaware River. The area became industrious soon after colonization with the building of mills, shipyards, and manufacturing plants.

history

INDUSTRIAL DECLINE

INTRODUCTION

As is the story of many industrial American cities, the industrial decline that took place in the 1950’s and 60’s, took a toll on the historically workingclass communities. By the 1970’s two important actors emerge within the site: the construction of I-95 in 1979 and the founding of the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC). With industry on the decline and the new I-95 creating a barrier between Fishtown, Port Richmond, and the Delaware River, which had been a source of economic activity, the two neighborhoods began to search outside of their neighborhoods for economic opportunities and were aided by the resources provided by NKCDC and neighborhood RCOs including the Fishtown Neighborhood Association.

12

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS In recent years, reconstruction of I-95 has further isolated these communities from the riverfront, which with vacant, former industrial lots, presents an opportunity for adaptive reuse. Fishtown and Port Richmond developed differently from neighboring Kensington to the North.

As Philadelphia grows economically, Fishtown and Port Richmond have experienced influxes of newcomers, while Fishtown has undergone rapid gentrification. With new development underway on the riverfront, it is more important than ever to reconnect these communities to the riverfront as both a source of economic activity and as a communal gathering space which can be enjoyed by current and future Fishtown and Port Richmond residents.

vision

The neighborhood plan for Fishtown, Port Richmond, and the Delaware River Waterfront envisions an environmentally, economically, and socially stable community for the next 10 years and for future generations. This plan will soften boundaries between Fishtown and Port Richmond and its surrounding neighborhoods, embrace cultural heritage, support local businesses, and ensure basic amenities such as fresh food and open space to every resident.

13

INTRODUCTION

Vision

STRUCTURING THE 2030 NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN

14

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

15

type of plan

the plan

NORTH DELAWARE AVENUE: THE THREAD ALONG THE RIVER

THE PLAN

In the North Delaware Avenue Study Area, streets play an underutilized role in supporting the public commons.

The avenue’s relationship to adjacent connector and local streets has been disjointed rather than connective.

North Delaware Avenue skates by the communities it borders, rather than supporting and linking them to essential services. These conditions are also mirrored in core corridors and connector streets through Port Richmond and Fishtown.

The neighborhoods adjacent to Delaware Avenue, Fishtown and Port Richmond, are vibrant neighborhoods, undergoing different paces of gentrification, with tight-knit, albeit, homogenous communal fabrics, that have turned inward rather than outward 16

with the decline of industry along the riverfront. These are increasingly desirable neighborhoods, and with that comes growth management pressures, impacting how residents see change, incoming members, and their relationship to neighboring communities. The physical environment has mediated much of this insularity and the corridors have long been boundaries rather than anchor engines for the community.

Despite the rigidity of the physical streets, these communities are warm, dynamic, and lead with a neighborly charm supported by the intimacy of a village.

type of plan

THE PLAN: INTEGRATED CORRIDORS FOR SOCIAL COHESION

15-Minute City

Safe + Complete Streets

The 15 Minute City is a vision framework for a cohesive neighborhood where all residents can access affordable healthy food, greenspace and public commons, transportation, and education within a safe, 15 minute walk.

Safe + Complete Streets are programs and standards for ensuring streets are friendly for users of all ages and abilities. This includes crossing, biking, driving, and walking. They imagine the street and sidewalk as an extension of public gathering space and civic activity.

Time Frame

The 10- year plan allows for three rounds of phasing culminating in coordination of programmatic actors and community resiliency. These recommendations are shorter implementations than the Philadelphia 2035 Plan, as they expand upon existing neighborhood and citywide programs.

Client

NKCDC is a neighborhood RCO with a mission to coordinate services amongst the neighborhoods of Fishtown, Kensington, Port Richmond, and Harrowgate. This plan aligns with the mission of the neighborhood organization, while making proposals that NKCDC cannot implement with their resources alone.

Framework

This plan looks beyond Delaware Avenue as a corridor in isolation, examining the major corridors and local streets of the study area as a system. Inspired by the principles of the 15 Minute City and Safe and Complete Street programs.

17

THE PLAN

The North Delaware Riverfront Communities 2030 Plan is a ten-year neighborhood connectivity plan examining how the redevelopment and reconnection of corridors can spread essential services more equitably through the study area. The plan aims to build upon the core strengths of Fishtown and Port Richmond, including well used open spaces, transportation access, high ranking schools, and invested community groups. Envisioning NKCDC as client and coimplementer, this plan aims to tackle larger physical challenges than typical for a neighborhood RCO, further assisting their mission to support residents in aging in place, upgrading their homes, accessing healthy food, and greening streets. This plan aims to include NKCDC as an active partner in implementing like-minded plans, including The Riverwards 2035 Plan and the DRWC riverfront Plan. Going farther, this plan will harness climate resiliency along the riverfront and Delaware Avenue, leveraging the opportunity to outfit these neighborhoods for looming sea level rise and environmental challenges. This plan looks to street conditions for pedestrian mobility and the equitable spatial distribution of essential services. While a diversity of voices and opinions creates a healthy neighborhood, in Fishtown and Port Richmond, communities are shifting out of insularity. In improving the street network and preventing conditions such as ongoing gentrification and loss of small business identity, this plan will promote a thriving neighborhood centered in mobility justice.

The corridor redevelopment will be the starting point to ensuring overall communal health.

key concepts

concepts that guide the plan There are two overarching concerns across Fishtown and Port Richmond: aging housing stock and lack of healthy food access. In order to mitigate these threats, the following policies will apply to the neighborhoods as a whole to ensure that each resident has a safe, modern, and green home, as well as walkable access to healthy, fresh food.

the 15-minute city The Framework of the 15-Minute City envisions access to essential services within safe walking distance for all. Along North Delaware Avenue, physical barriers can be softened by addressing the need for affordable living costs, access to healthy food, and environmental adaptation. Addressing these issues neighborhoodwide and within specific sites of intervention will satisfy the goals of building an intedependent and interwoven community where residents have equal access to meeting their basic needs. The following physical interventions use food, housing affordability, and climate resiliency as entry points to building a system of more connected and cohesive corridors along North Delaware Avenue, and through Fishtown and Port Richmond.

creating a food haven

THE PLAN

Neighborhood policies, programs, and physical interventions ensure accessing healthy and affordable food is essential for communal well-being. The equitable circulation of food can imbue public spaces and community assets with vital social services, contributing to an interwoven and inter-dependent community.

18

key concepts

greening the housing stock and the neighborhoods Stabilizing the neighborhood through environmentally resilient policies will guide how residents are housed and commute, protecting North Delaware Avenue from environmental risk and growth management pressures related to gentrification. Adapting to climate change involves improving mobility and access through the neighborhood while expanding on existing programs to allow residents to age in place and business owners to maintain long term tenure.

safe + complete streets

Front Street Farmers’ Market in Fishtown.

Source: fishtown.com

19

THE PLAN

Safe + Complete Streets are programs and standards for ensuring streets are friendly for users of all ages and abilities. This includes crossing, biking, driving, and walking. They imagine the street and sidewalk as an extension of public gathering space and civic activity.

goals

goals This plan aims to create a 15-minute walkable neighborhood that softens social boundaries, is environmentally and economically resilient, has equal access to healthy food, and provides long term stability for residents and businesses to thrive in the years to come.

Enhance connectivity between and beyond the neighborhoods Build a green and communal waterfront Put in place the infrastructure to maintain a healthy community Foment economic agency and protect small businesses

THE PLAN

Mitigate displacement and manage external development pressure

20

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

21

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Land Use & Zoning Riverfront Demographics Housing & Gentrification Economy Transportation Connectivity Neighborhood Connectivity

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Neighborhood Safety Food Access Open Space Community Assets Issues & Opportunities 22

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

23

Demographicland use & zoning

EXISTING CONDITIONS Introduction

LAND USE & ZONING LAND USE Land use determines which parts of a city or neighborhood are adequate for certain uses such as residential, civic & institutional, or open space. Land use in Fishtown & Port Richmond is primarily residential and commercial, with industrial uses permitted along the waterfront. Many residential blocks are mixed commercial and residential, which encourages walkability and small business ownership. Other land uses permitted within the site include care facilities, such as day cares and nursing homes, religious institutions, parks, libraries, warehouses & distribution centers, and transportation, among other uses.

Land Use Map

Pulaski Park

24

Demographicland use & zoning Row House

Bar

Zoning Map

Residential zoning in Fishtown & Port Richmond is classified according to the Philadelphia Zoning Code as RM-1, RM-4, and RSA-5. The code RM stands for Residential Multiuse. RM1 and 4 indicate medium density housing, ranging from single family attached, such as the traditional Philadelphia rowhome, to multifamily structures. Any structure zoned RM is allowed by-right to be occupied single family, two family, or multi family. The RS zoning code stands for Residential Single Family. Any parcel zoned RS-5 in the site boundary must remain a single-family structure, cannot be converted to apartments and, cannot exceed 38 feet in height. 95% of residentially zoned properties in the site are zoned RS-5, meaning there are much fewer two-family or multifamily buildings in Fishtown and Port Richmond.

25

Introduction EXISTING CONDITIONS

ZONING

Restaurant

land use + zoning Demographic

EXISTING CONDITIONS Introduction

The commercial zoning implemented within the site boundary is CMX1, CMX2, and CMX2.5, which indicates commercial mixed use. 36.5% of the site is zoned commercial. Any parcel zoned CMX is allowed by-right to operate both as a commercial store front and a residential dwelling within the same structure.

Parcels zoned CMX2.5 are found along main streets, such as on Frankford Ave and Girard Ave, and are used to encourage walkable neighborhoods and commercial activity along corridors.

Big box, car-oriented commerce found on both Lower and Upper Aramingo Avenue is zoned CA-1 and CA-2. This type of commercial corridor is markedly different than the CMX 2.5 corridors found along Frankford Ave and Girard Ave, which are pedestrian-friendly and largely mixed-use. It is also important to note that heavy to medium-use industry, zoned I2 and I3, is still an active part of the neigborhood’s economy, especially in Port Richmond.

26

ZONING OVERLAYS

Facto-

There are three important zoning overlays found within the site boundary: the Central Delaware Riverfront Overlay, the Delaware River Conservation Overlay, and the North Delaware Avenue Neighborhood Commercial Area. The two riverfront overlays simultaneously protect the natural resources of the area while encouraging sustainable growth near the river. The current DRWC plans for an extensive trail network along South and North Delaware Ave would be protected and promoted through the Delaware River Conservation Overlay, which places a 50-foot building setback along the Delaware riverfront. Both the North Delaware Ave Neighborhood Commercial Area Overlay and the Central Delaware Riverfront Overlay are responsible for creating guidelines for sustainable commercial and residential development that connects neighborhoods, such as Fishtown and Port Richmond to the waterfront.

Oil Tank

riverfront

RIVERFRONT

Satellite Image of Riverfront

New residential development is currently being proposed for the riverfront, with developments laying out staggering proposals of up to 3,000 new families near Graffiti Pier and Penn Treaty Park.

These proposals reflect the desire to develop the riverfront, which has become a trendy location as DWRC pursues more riverfront connectivity spanning the entire Delaware Riverfront. While current zoning, along the riverfront, near Penn Treaty Park is CMX-3 (residential/

commercial mixed use), Graffiti Pier is currently zoned industrial and falls into the vacant land use category. Along with developing the riverfront near Penn Treaty Park, DRWC is also currently developing plans to formalize Graffiti Pier.

Fishtown and Port Richmond neighborhood associations are directly involved in participatory processes centered on riverfront development plans. Much of the vacant land is owned

by DRWC and is considered prime real estate. Luxury development proposals cluster around open spaces including Graffiti Pier and Penn Treaty Park and could drastically change the landscape of the riverfront and who uses it. At the moment, these proposals do not reflect the needs of the adjacent communities but do take advantage of the existing

zoning and land use conditions along riverfront real estate.

Currently, the riverfront is not well connected to the neighborhood due to construction on I-95 and challenging conditions of connector streets. Still, residents in Fishtown and Port Richmond often make use of the formal and informal green space along the riverfront.

While parts of the riverfront are zoned to receive commercial and residential development, the area is environmentally vulnerable to floods and storm surges.

The current 100 and 500 year floodplain projections show natural disasters posing a threat to development and should be an important factor when planning for the area.

27

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Fishtown and Port Richmond developed out of the riverfront economies of fishing, industrial marina building, and manufacturing through the 17th-20th centuries. Now, even as industry in the area has declined, the riverfront remains an underutilized and mostly, inaccessible portion of the city.

demographics

DEMOGRAPHICS RESIDENT PORTRAIT: STRONG, STABLE COMMUNITY

EXISTING CONDITIONS

The neighorhoods of Fishtown and Port Richmond are historically characterized as poor, white working class communities. Both neighborhoods have a history of Polish and Irish immigration and maintain those deep cultural ties to this day.

As development opportunities have increased in the neighborhoods, a more young, educated, and higher income population has slowly trickled in. 30,000 people live in this area, evenly distributed in both Fishtown and Port Richmond.

Based on census data, most residents range from age 25 to 54. The majority of residents are homeowners with an median annual household income of $61,000, which is higher than the rest of Philadelphia. The area has a high education rate, with 24% of residents obtaining a bachelor’s degree. With high homeownship and fewer renters, these neighborhoods are family-oriented and therefore, have been attractive to young families.

28

demographics

RACIAL COMPOSITION: INCREASINGLY HOMOGENOUS

RACIAL COMPOSTION CHANGE

Fishtown Young People

29

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Although Philadelphia has a significant population of African American residents and other ethnicities, residents of Port Richmond and Fishtown are mostly white. Despite increasing development pressure and newcomers to the neighborhoods, the communities have stayed mostly homogenous. In fact, there has been a drop in foreign-born population in the area between 2009 and 2018. This influx of new residents has gradually weakened the immigrant composition of the community, even as Polish and Irish culture remains a strong presence in the neighborhoods, especially in Port Richmond.

housing & gentrification

EXISTING CONDITIONS

HOUSING & GENTRIFICATION DEFINING GENTRIFICATION According to Pew Center reports, neighborhoods in Philadelphia that have gentrified in recent years share a common set of indicators. Most were majority white neighborhoods, with high vacancy rates before 2000, and a significant incoming increase of households above certain median income thresholds. While neither neighborhood fits the specific Pew finding thresholds, they still demonstrate change amongst those three core characteristics.

percentage of Fishtown residents living in poverty has declined in recent years.

In Port Richmond, poverty rates are still persistent, leaving significant challenges for an aging housing stock. Upgrading dilapidated historic housing can come at great economic burden to long term residents. Therefore, many older residents are beginning to sell their homes, fueling income patterns of development that reflect and mirror Fishtown’s transformation over the past decade. The tension between new construction and the upkeep of historic buildings deeply impacts the building process, delineating who can afford to upgrade existing properties, and new residents who move in and choose to build from scratch.

Housing conditions in Port Richmond

THE NEIGHBORHOODS today, mirror Fishtown’s existing conditions a decade ago, only with fewer vacancies. In Fishtown and Port Richmond, the aging, poor white working class population is slowly declining as a young, more racially diverse, educated, and higher income population moves in. As a result, home value has increased significantly in Fishtown and Port Richmond. This makes the neighborhoods an interesting case study in managing gentrification while growing a more diverse population.

While gentrification has led to some displacement, the population is trending away from its more homogenous history.

Rate of Home Ownership

RENTERS

35%

Apartment in construction

Housing conditions in Fishtown and Port Richmond reflect the contrasting development patterns in both neighborhoods and a shared industrial history tied to the waterfront. The 30

RENTERS

65% OWNERS FISHTOWN & PORT RICHMOND

53%

47%

OWNERS PHILADELPHIA

The Housing Development in Fishtown and Port Richmond reflects the contrasting rates of change, gentrification and desirability between the two neighborhoods. Fishtown has gentrified, experiencing an influx of new, higher income, more highly educated residents,and with them, escalating housing prices, and an influx of luxury development. Port Richmond has retained stability, experiencing population growth on par with Philadelphia as a whole.

While Fishtown’s housing market has soared, Port Richmond’s is experiencing measured but significant growth. Much of Fishtown’s new construction has centered near Girard Avenue and the Frankford Avenue commercial corridor, spanning out through the neighborhood from core retail hubs. The building and development in Fishtown geographically coincides with the neighborhood’s commercial explosion.

The housing typology in both neighborhoods increasingly reflects a mix of new and old, pointing to the contrasting presence of long term residents and newcomers entering both neighborhoods. However, the row home is still the characteristic typology of both neighborhoods. The neighborhood is largely zoned for single family rowhomes, though multi-unit buildings, sometimes upwards of 40 units have popped up through Fishtown, especially clustered near Girard station and stretching out along the Frankford Avenue commercial corridor. The explosion of the Fishtown housing market is also reflected through commercial development. A large amount of neighborhood housing in both Fishtown and Port Richmond is first floor commercial.

MULTI-FAMILY UNIT

INDUSTRIAL ADAPTIVE REUSE

housing & gentrification

HOUSING TYPOLOGY

INCREASING HOUSING MARKETS

TRADITIONAL ROWHOMES

Median Home value Owner-occupied Units FISHTOWN $173,300

$250,000

2010

2018

PORT RICHMOND

$135,000

$158,000

2010

2018

PHILADELPHIA

$135,200

$156,800

2010

2018

RENOVATED ROWHOMES

31

EXISTING CONDITIONS

ROWHOUSE ROOTS

demographics

POVERTY & UNEMPLOYMENT POVERTY DISTRIBUTION

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Although Fishtown and Port Richmond are fairly economically stable communities, the poverty rate across the site area ranges between 10% and 18% of residents. While this is better than the city average of 26%, higher rates of poverty are concentrated in areas of the site near the Kensington border to the north.

Poverty Rate

32

UNEMPLOYMENT IN FISHTOWN AND PORT RICHMOND While poverty is lower in the site area than the Philadelphia average, the unemployment rate in these communities is higher than the city average. It also is racially concentrated, with a higher percentage of African Americans and Hispanic residents facing greater numbers of unemployment in Fishtown and Port Richmond.

Those without a high school diploma also demonstrate a higher rate of unemployment in the site area. Since Fishtown and Port Richmond are mainly made up of white residents, high unemployment within the lesser

population of minority residents merits pause.

economy

ECONOMY Over the past ten years, Fishtown and Port Richmond have experienced steady growth in their economies. Compared to other parts of the city, these two neighborhoods have relatively strong and thriving local economies. The median household income in Fishtown and Port Richmond has increased in the past decade at a faster rate than Philadelphia overall.

EMPLOYMENT: GROWING JOB MARKET The trend of increasing median household income demonstrates the effect newcomers to the neighborhood are having on the community, particularly in Fishtown. New residents have also shifted the job trends in the neighborhoods. The most common occupation for residents is Office and administrative support. Management, business and financial occupations are also common jobs for residents in this site.

HOUSEHOLD INCOME CHANGE 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 2010

2011

2012

F I S H T OW N

2013

P OR T R I C H M ON D

COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS: ECONOMIC DRIVER There are several commerical corridors within the study area that function as the economic veins of the two neighborhoods. Aramingo Ave is one JOB COMPOSITION

2014

2015

2016

2017

P HI L A DE L P HI A

of the main commercial corridors to the east, characterized by sprawling big box retail. This commercial corridor is made up of chain stores, restaurants, and is best served by vehicle traffic. The auto-centric focus of this corridor makes this street univiting for pedestrian traffic.

COMMERCIAL TYPE COMPARISON: LOCAL VS BIG BOX In contrast to the big box retail prevalent along Aramingo Ave, Allegheny Ave and Richmond St are connector streets running through Port Richmond that tout thriving local businesses and function as the main commercial corridor within the neighborhood. Frankford Ave and East Girard Ave are lively and trendy 33

EXISTING CONDITIONS

HOUSEHOLD INCOME: STABLE GROWTH

economy

KENSINGTON

commercial streets running through the Fishtown neighborhood, which also cater to pedestrians and exhibit a more lively street scene. These local commercial corridors within the neighborhoods maintain the unique identities of both Fishtown and Port Richmond, attracting local residents, as well as others throughout the city.

Allegheny

Aramingo Commercial Corridor Somerset

ve r A ve sto r A Ca asto C

ve oA ng i am Ar

Huntingdon

PORT RICHMOND Richmond and Allegheny Commercial Corridor

Fr an kfo rd Av e

York-Dauphin

Berks

Frankford and Susquehana FISHTOWN Commercial Corridor

Lower Aramingo Commercial Corridor

TE WA

T

r

ive

ON

R RF

re R wa

a

Del

Specialty Center East Girard Commercial Corridor

Community Center Neighborhood Center

Girard

Neighborhood SubCenter

r ive

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Sugar House Casino

R re a w

la

De

0

0.125

0.25

0.5

0.75

1

Miles

Commercial Corrior Map Big Box Retail

1,275,000 sq ft UPPER ARAMINGO AVENUE

Street Business

776,000 sq ft FRANKFORD AVENUE

34

transportation connectivity

TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIVITY Both Fishtown and Port Richmond have access to all modes of public transit throughout the city. However, the majority of bus routes are concentrated in Fishtown and accessing the MarketFrankford Line (MFL) subway line becomes a longer commute from most points of the neighborhood as you enter Port Richmond.

Fishtown SEPTA Bus

MFL Station

35

EXISTING CONDITIONS

By automobile, both neighborhoods find easy access to the city and the region through North Delaware Avenue and I-95.

The ease of roadway access has resulted in the majority of neighborhood residents choosing to commute by car even with 10 bus routes, a trolley route, and the MFL sevicing the site.

transportation connectivity

COMMUTING FLOW Most residents in Port Richmond and Fishtown work in Center City, University City, and in the neighborhood area. There are more residents in Fishtown who work in these destinations, comprising 27.3% of total commuters, while Port Richmond residents make up 19.9% of this workforce.

EXISTING CONDITIONS

FREIGHT RAIL There are two freight rails within the study area. One is the Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad, which runs along the Delaware River waterfront and Aramingo Avenue. The other is the Richmond Industrial Track owned by Conrail running through Kensington and Port Richmond, which is an active industrial rail. The operating freight rail, which runs adjacent to pedestrian activity, raises public concerns for the safety of residents crossing nearby.

I-95 RECONSTRUCTION I-95 is undergoing a long-term and multi-phased reconstruction. The part of I-95 within this site area continues from the Girard Avenue Interchange to the Allegheny/Castor Interchange (GIR) project area and from Ann Street to the Frankford Creek (AFC) area. This section 36

of I-95 is one of the busiest, with average daily traffic ranging from 120,000 to 160,000 riders. It also faces some of the worst congestion, especially along the southbound side, parallel with Fishtown.

The section of reconstruction in this neighborhood aims to expand southbound I-95 from three lanes to four lanes in each direction, contruct a fifth auxiliary lane for ramp traffic at Girard Avenue and Allegheny Avenue and reconstruct southboud on-off ramps at Girard Avenue. The project is expected to end in 2023 with the a total cost of $311.5 million.

In addition to changes to the street surfaces, the public spaces underneath and adjacent to the interstate are also under redesign. Connector streets, which act as an important access link between the neighborhoods and the riverfront, are also expecting changes.

The improvements to connector streets include lighting, landscaping, signage, and improved sidewalks and bicycle lanes in order to increase pedestrian, cyclist, and motorist safety. Up until now, only the Frankford Avenue connector and the Columbia Avenue connector have improved.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION The area is served by 10 bus routes.

Most of the buses have the maximum headway of 30 minute frequencies, with the exception of Route 89 and 39 which have a headway of every 60 minutes, and Route 60 with a headway of every 15 minutes.

The MFL, which connects residents to Center City, serves the two neighborhoods with bus connections improving access specifically in Port Richmond.

Residents of Fishtown have walkable access to the Girard and Berks stations since both are within 0.25 miles from most parts of the neighborhood.

Resdients also have the ability to take Route 5 or 15B to Girard station or take the Route 39 bus to the Huntingdon station.

By contrast, residents of Port Richmond could take Route 54, 60 or 89 to reach the Somerset station, Allegheny station and Tioga station. However, they need to spend more time in transit to reach the MFL stations than residents of Fishtown.

transportation connectivity

BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE The bicycle infrastructure in the site area is incomplete and unsafe, consisting of a mix of conventional and sharrow bike lanes. There are no buffered bike lanes within the site, separating cyclists from motor vehicles, making cycling unsafe and precarious. This is especially concerning considering the high speeds and high traffic volumes on N Delaware Ave.

Belgrade Street sharrow on narrow street.

Allegheny Avenue bike lane, clearly demarcated but unprotected.

Aramingo Avenue bike lane, unprotected on fast road.

37

EXISTING CONDITIONS

While Fishtown has more bike infrastructure than Port Richmond, there is no bike lane that runs directly to the waterfront as there is in Port Richmond with Lehigh Ave and Aramingo Ave. However, Port Richmond has far fewer overall bike lanes compared to Fishtown, which contributes to the neighborhoods lack of non-vehicular connectivity and high car-usage.

neighborhood connectivity

EXISTING CONDITIONS

NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTIVITY PROBLEMS FACING CONNECTIVITY Between Fishtown and Port Richmond there are four streets that cross both neighborhoods: Belgrade Street, Thompson Street, Tulip Street and Aramingo Avenue. However, traveling by foot between the two neighborhoods and to the riverfront is challenging. I-95, the 7-lane North Delaware Avenue, big box shopping corridors along Upper and Lower Aramingo Ave, as well as the poorly-lit Lehigh Viaduct act as barriers to access through and around the site boundary.

Pedestrians and cyclists face many barriers that inhibit safe access throughout the neighborhoods and to the riverfront. I-95 and Delaware Avenue on the east, force pedestrians to traverse a multilane arterial road in order to reach the riverfront. To the north, the Lower Aramingo big box commercial area with it’s sea of parking spaces, inhibit comfortable pedestrian movement towards the MFL on Kensington Avenue.

Upper Aramingo Ave and Castor Ave border big box and industrial parcels further discouraging pedestrian use.

38

Map of Connector Streets

CONNECTIONS TO RIVERFRONT The map above shows where pedestrians might make connections to the riverfront.

We identified primary and secondary connectors that indicate important

access points. All of these connectors intersect important corridors within the site boundary such as Richmond St, Belgrade St, and Aramingo Ave.

neighborhood name ofconnectivity focus area

The Circuit Trails network includes a combined 300 miles of multi-use paths and routes that connect the New Jersey/ Philadelphia region’s local communities and provide opportunities for recreation and commuting. An additional 50 miles are in progress. Some trails connect to the greater Northeast Region and Appalachian Trail.

The trail network on Philadelphia’s eastern riverfront is currently in the process of expanding and is not wellconnected as it stands. The completed section traverses the industrial zone of Delaware Avenue and continues to a dead end on Orthodox Street in the nearby neighborhood of Bridesburg. The other completed trail is in Penn Treaty Park, without connections to the rest of the region.

Map of Circuit Trails as designated by the City of Philadelphia (above) and screen capture of the circuit trail at Delaware Avenue (right). It is highlighted in green on the map above.

39

DEVELOPMENT EXISTING CONDITIONS PRESSURES

CIRCUIT TRAILS

neighborhood connectivity

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Map of study area connections and barriers.

40

Upper Aramingo is home to a big box commercial corridor that sours access to the MFL line on Kensington Avenue with its sprawling parking lots, large setbacks, and uninspiring facades. This also makes the flow of residents outside of the study area, into it, and towards the waterfront unlikely.

The Lehigh Viaduct’s squalid underpass and Lower Aramingo’s parking squander any sense of connection and walkability between the two neighborhoods.

Castor Avenue on the north borders big box commercial and industrial parcels. It backs more industrial space, a large I-95 interchange, and Frankford Creek. This means the study area is bounded quite solidly in all directions, and disjointed between itself due to the Lehigh Viaduct that runs between the two neighborhoods of Fishtown and Port Richmond.

neighborhood name ofconnectivity focus area

The I-95, Delaware Avenue, Upper Aramingo, the Lehigh Viaduct, Lower Aramingo, and Castor Avenue constitute concrete barriers to access through and outside our site. The I-95 creates unpleasant and wide underpasses to cross before then forcing the pedestrian to cross Delaware Avenue’s seven lanes.

NEIGHBORHOOD THOROUGHFARES

The site has only four streets running through both neighborhoods - Belgrade Street, Thompson Street, Tulip Street and Aramingo Avenue. The former three are intercepted by both the Lower Aramingo Avenue big box business corridor and the Lehigh Viaduct, which make movement between the two exceedingly difficult.

RIVERFRONT CONNECTORS The study area has a plethora of streets offering riverfront connections, albeit not the friendliest. Those streets are Allegheny Avenue, Somerset Street, Huntington Street, Cumberland Street, Berks Street, Palmer Street, Columbia Street, and Marlborough Street. Only two out of eight are located in Port Richmond, creating an unequal level of access to riverfront recreation. These streets all cross the I-95 underpasses and the 7-lane Delaware Avenue, making for an unpleasant non-automobile experience.

The riverfront to the left and Port Richmond to the right. To cross from one to the other, the pedestrian is forced to traverse below the interstate highway and Delaware Avenue.

41

DEVELOPMENT EXISTING CONDITIONS PRESSURES

HARD BARRIERS

neighborhood connectivity

EXISTING CONDITIONS

CONNECTING NEIGHBORHOODS TO EACH OTHER & THE RIVERFRONT Port Richmond and Fishtown are divided from each other by the Lehigh Viaduct and big box commercial on Aramingo Avenue. The viaduct has only three connector streets between the neighborhoods at Tulip Street, Belgrade Street and E Thompson Street. The difficulty of movement between the neighborhoods further hinders the ability for residents to enjoy equal access to amenities and reinforces Port Richmond’s insularity.

While I-95 is a current barrier for movement, the I-95 reconstruction project has presented an opportunity for major redesign changes to surface streets and public spaces underneath and adjacent to the interstate. While the project has exacerbated connectivity concerns to the waterfront and the community, the project also invites the opportunity to consider improvements to the streetscapes including, better bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

42

Unfinished Trail along Delaware

Neighborhood Street

N Delaware Ave

I-95 Sound Barrier

Lehigh Viaduct

Lehigh Viaduct

neighborhood safety

NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY The main pressures and issues regarding neighborhood safety in the site area include: contamination, opioid use, dangerous road networks, and recent development.

CONTAMINATION

Those smelters left a legacy of elevated lead concentrations in soils. Recent construction and demolition has disturbed soils and exposed underlying contamination, raising concern with local residents. High levels of lead and zinc are present particularly in the old, industrial areas of the site area. These levels are several times higher than the safe standards for soil concentration set forth by the Department of Environmental Protection.

Industrial Site

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE Opioid Overdose Crisis

HOMESLESSNESS & OPIOID USE Fishtown and Port Richmond do not have significant homeless populations, but

Port Richmond Trail Network

The road network in the study area is divided by I-95. Most of the area to the west side of I-95 is residential. Lehigh Ave, Allegheny Ave, Castor Ave serve as the major east-west corridors with N Delaware Ave, Richmond St, Aramingo Ave, Frankford Ave serving as the main north-south thoroughfares. Most of the traffic within the study area concentrates on North Delaware Avenue and Aramingo Avenue. According to Philadelphia's Vision Zero plan, eight arterial roads in 43

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Fishtown and Port Richmond lie in the path of redevelopment pressure. They were also once home to 14 secondary lead smelters.

their neighbors to the West Kensington and Harrowgate have a greater percentage of homeless residents, exacerbated by the Opioid Crisis.The interrelated crises and drug use have impacted the built environment in and around the study area. In 2011, a homeless encampment along Richmond street was cleared. Port Richmond and Kensington also share a police precinct, and Port Richmond residents have significant say in issues of safety. NKCDC oversees projects related to housing support for families strugging to maintain tenure in their home.

neighborhood safety

the study area are part of the high injury network, indicating high numbers of traffic-related deaths and unsafe road conditions.

Narrow one-way streets are common throughout the residential areas of the neigbhorhood. Parking is common on the both sides of the streets hindering people from cycling through the neighborhoods.

of Fishtown to protect limited parking through set back RSAs. They have also fought against the expansion of multiunit housing, raising controversy in the neighborhood. Facebook groups such as River Wards L&I, crowdsource community knowledge surrounding questionable development jobs across

BIKE NETWORK

EXISTING CONDITIONS

The existing bike lanes are insufficient, interrupted and unsafe. Bike sharrows, where cyclists share the lane with motor vehicles or without a physical barrier are common in the neighborhoods. The bike lanes on North Delaware Avenue are especially precarious with commonly high traffic volumes and vehicle speeds reaching up to 55 MPH.

DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE

The construction boom in Fishtown has led to concerns about street safety, the integrity of the structural foundations of entire blocks, and a pervading sense that the neighborhood is perpetually under construction, with street closures, debris left by contractors, and illegal building overnight characterizing street conditions. Concerned residents have organized together to rezone segments 44

Relavant Real Estate News

the neighborhood through set back RSAs.

food access

FOOD ACCESS Food access is a challenge for the North Delaware Avenue Study Area.

While the restaurant scene is one of Fishtown’s greatest community assets and economic drivers, the neighborhood lacks plentiful grocery stores accessible for lower income residents. Despite its vibrant local restaurant reflective of the neighborhood’s Eastern European population, Port Richmond is considered a low-density food zone lacking places to buy nutritious and affordable food. Port Richmond also lacks emergency food depositories found through Fishtown.

Residents in both neighborhoods face barriers to accessing nutritious and affordable food.

Food Access Map

Food apartheid zones are commonly defined as geographic areas lacking immediate and affordable access to nutritious food at a safe and walkable distance. Food apartheid is often a symptom and reflection of disinvestment.

In Port Richmond, the census tracts with the lowest access to grocers, are also the tracts with the lowest median household incomes and highest rates of poverty. These low access areas can be

found closer to I-95, Richmond Street, and the Delaware river, between Lehigh and Alleghany. These pockets of the neighborhood also lack access to transit options like the MFL.

Inside a Fishtown Grocery

45

EXISTING CONDITIONS

DEFINING FOOD ACCESS CHALLENGES

open space

OPEN SPACE FLOOD PLAIN

EXISTING CONDITIONS

The neighborhoods of Fishtown and Port Richmond lie within the FEMA 100-year floodplain, and are drained by the city’s combined sewer system. The district’s low elevation, tidal waterfronts, flat topography, and development on top of historic streams present significant water management challenges. Within the site, the industrial riverfront runs the risk of severe flooding during a major storm event. With development creeping in on the riverfront, interventions need to be in place to protect residents from potential natural disasters and damage.

Open Space Map

The main environmental issues affecting the North Delaware corridor include, proximity to the floodplain, contaminated soil, and fragmented access to riverfront parks. The opportunities for improving the environmental conditions include, better 46

floodplain management through the addition of climate resilient infrastructure along the riverfront, added green stormwater infrastructure, as well as remediation of open spaces and better connectivity to parks and the waterfront.

View of Grafitti Pier and beyond, to Center City

Bike Lane

open space

Both Fishtown and Port Richmond were once home to fourteen lead smelters, which has raised the lead levels in the soil and threatens the environmental health of the community. Recent construction and demolition, both legal and illegal, has disturbed the soil and exposed underlying contamination, raising concern with local residents. Sites with unsafe levels of lead must undergo environmental assessments by the Department of Environmental Protection before development takes place to ensure safety for residents.

GREEN STORM WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

runoff.

Green street projects have been successful in capturing rain and stormwater from the impervious street surface in an effort to reduce combined sewer overflows. Tree trenches, stormwater planters, and stormwater bump-outs are three types of technologies currently found on the green streets in the site area that utilize landscaping to manage stormwater

GREEN SPACE Well-frequented green spaces along the riverfront include Penn Treaty Park, Graffiti Pier, The Rails to Trials bike network, and Pulaski Park. DRWC is currently creating a plan for the Northern Delaware riverfront. This plan aims to create a connected waterfront park space spanning the city of Philadelphia that utilizes connections with existing adjacent neighborhoods and businesses.

The goal of DRWC’s plan is to develop the current informal open space as a citywide asset and attraction, while enhancing the connections nearby communities have to the riverfront. This involves remediation, the development of park spaces, and rezoning to accommodate preferred design guidelines and riverfront use.

Green Infrastructure

Penn Treaty Park

47

EXISTING CONDITIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

communituy assets

EXISTING CONDITIONS

COMMUNITY ASSETS The neighborhoods of Fishtown and Port Richmond have a cultural identity steeped in their Eastern European roots.

Many of the community assets reflect the neighborhoods’ heritage, such as Saint Adalbert Catholic Church, an historic Polish Catholic Cathedral in Port Richmond. Other neighborhood assets include the Women’s Revitalization Fund, which has developed a Community Land Trust (CLT) in Port Richmond, North of Aramingo, just beyond the site area boundaries. This group has proposed CLTs in neighborhoods with sizable low income populations and has identified Port Richmond as the next place to target.

In addition, neighborhood associations such as the Fishtown Neighbors Association have been vital to the success of these neighborhoods. The Fish sign, which is now synonymous with the Fishtown neighborhood, was a placemaking tool initiated by the Fishtown Neighbors Association in the early 2000s prior to the wave of gentrification, as a way for the community to fundraise for services that the city was not providing. The fish 48

St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church

Saint Adalbert Catholic Church

insignia was so popular that it stayed in the neighborhood and gave Fishtown a sense of place-keeping and identity in the midst of rapid changes and gentrification.

Fishtown Icon

SCHOOLS

Community Groups

communituy assets

Families within Fishtown and Port Richmond have an abundance of nearby public and private schools. Alexander Adaire Elementary (K-8) and Penn Treaty High (9-12) are the public schools that serve Fishtown, while Port Richmond residents are served by their Horatio B. Hackett (K-5), Richmond School (K-5), and Memphis Street Charter (6-8) within the Port Richmond boundary, and Bridesburg Elementary (K-8), and Frankford High (9-12) in the Bridesburg and Frankford neighborhoods of the city. While Fishtown boasts one private school, St. Laurentius (K-8), Port Richmond boasts four, all of which are parochial. Residents from both neighborhoods can also opt into sending children to charter schools throughout the city of Philadelphia.

The public schools for this area are rated well and have high attendance but, the facilities are aging and require extreme renovations if not complete reconstruction. For example, Richmond Elementary was ranked by the city of Philadelphia as a school that should be considered for closing or replacement, which would put tremendous stress on Port Richmond families. Funding for these important community anchors must be a top prioroty so that residents can continue to send their families to nearby, reliable facilities.

Port Richmond High School

49

EXISTING CONDITIONS

SCHOOLS

issues & opportunities

ISSUES Desirable neighborhoods increase housing prices and encourage rapid development

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Access to healthy food is limited due to disconnected commercial activity, specifically in Port Richmond Street conditions hinder pedestrian access to the neighborhoods and waterfront Riverfront lies within the 100-year floodplain

50

issues & opportunities

OPPORTUNITIES Strong sense of community and civic engagement invite people to the community

Improved connectivity and access encourage waterfront use and neighborhood cohesion Industrial land has the potential to be green and resilient to flooding

51

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Parks and unused open spaces offer up the perfect place for farmer’s markets

RECOMMENDATIONS BY FOCUS AREA

52

53

RECOMMENDATIONS

focus areas North Delaware Avenue is the thread through the neighborhoods of Fishtown and Port Richmond, linking core streets to the riverfront, and paralleling I-95. Due to the street’s conflation as a parallel on-ramp feeder to the Delaware Expressway, I-95, federal funding from PennDot make this a well-resourced area for intervention. Currently, the street lies in the 100-year floodplain, is high risk and hostile for pedestrian access, and does not offer helpful placemaking or wayfinding tied to neighborhood amenities. In its current wide- lane-form with few crossings, Delaware Avenue is more of a barrier to the riverfront than a Safe and Complete Street. Delaware Avenue is a direct link between Northeast Philadelphia and Center City. Improving the corridor as a network provides an opportunity to better connect the neighborhoods to a “riverfront commons” and solidify climate resiliency policy in Philadelphia.

54

Lower Aramingo Avenue

Lower Aramingo ‘s current big box zoning has created an interim zone that disconnects Fishtown and Port Richmond from functioning as a crossable neighborhood unit. The large lot sizes on Aramingo offer potential to change zoning to promote mixed use commercial and mixed income residential development. By allowing more density in residential development, proposals on lower Aramingo provide an opportunity to equalize over-development and construction concerns in Fishtown.

Belgrade Street Belgrade Street is a local one-way street running East/West between Fishtown and Port Richmond. The core sites of Aldaire Elementary, Richmond Elementary, and Campbell Square fall within a few blocks of this street. It is an ideal focus areas to improve access to healthy food and walkability to commercial centers and schools across the neighborhoods. It also provides an opportunity to make connections between the neighborhoods by emphasizing safe walks to school, transit, and food access.

Allegheny Avenue and Richmond Street Alleghany/Richmond is a connector street through Port Richmond and is home to thriving local business scene, reflective of Port Richmond’s Eastern European heritage. Allegheny is an important thoroughfare between Kensington, Port Richmond, to both the MFL and to the riverfront, and is thus an opportune site to explore economic development in Port Richmond.

Penn Treaty Park Penn Treaty Park is a thriving riverfront greenspace, situated along North Delaware Avenue. The park sits beside the vacant PECO building, a relic of the riverfront’s industrial heritage. The building marks an opportunity to use adaptive re-use to both preserve and expand the riverfront as a public commons serving the neighborhood and drawing residents from across Philadelphia.

Grafitti Pier Graffiti Pier is an informal open space on the riverfront, notable for providing an experimental outlet to Philadelphia’s graffiti subculture and arts scene. The park intersects Lehigh Avenue near North Delaware Avenue. Graffiti Pier as an opportune meeting point to marry climate resiliency to the park’s creative and industrial identity. Proposals for graffiti pier seek to imagine the park as a hub for waterfront recreation tied to long-term climate resiliency strategies.

RECOMMENDATIONS

55

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

MAINTAINING AFFORDABILITY: Lower Aramgino Avenue Utilizing the big box retail space along Lower Aramingo Avenue aims to relieve the development pressure felt in Fishtown and its waterfront and will promote more affordable, mixed use housing along this car-oriented corridor.

RESILIENT AFFORDABILITY

RECOMMENDATIONS

Lower Aramingo Avenue is an access to I-95, linking Fishtown, Port Richmond with the Riverfront. Most fast food restaurants and retails are located along the thoroughfare, including the Fishtown Crossing , a neighborhood shopping center. Besides, the Cione Playground on the Lower Aramingo attracts lots of children to enjoy their leisure time after school. There are several row houses in the intersection with Belgrade Street.

Lower Aramingo Avenue will reflect study-area wide policies encouraging street safety, food access and housing affordability. In line with the vision to offset gentrification while improving connections between the study area.

Proposals here approach the challenge of gentrification and lack of affordable

56

housing, while balancing growth and desirability proximal to riverfront amenities. Lower Aramingo provides an opportunity to fuse together the different needs of Port Richmond and Fishtown residents while preserving the riverfront for open space and recreation.

The intervention on Lower Aramingo involves activating the massive underused space on the vacant land and big box retail. The interventions at Fishtown Crossing and vacant land behind the restaurants on Lower Aramingo seek to transform this hostile and underutilized big box commercial corridor into a thriving mixed- income, mixed-use development. This focus area would be tasked with addressing the lack of affordable housing in the

neighborhood through adding density as well as a percentage of affordable housing, and offset some development pressure in Fishtown and the Riverfront.

The intervention also involves improving the connectivity with the elementary schools on Belgrade Street and transforming the streetscape into a walkable hub for the youngest to eldest residents.

Finally, Lower Aramingo Avenue will transform into a dynamic community adjacent to Fishtown with easy access to I-95 under the proposed policy and physical intervention.

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

Rendering by Claudia Aliff

CASE STUDY: Innovia at Warm Springs, CA very low-income households (50% of Area Median Income) and low-income households (60% of Area Median Income). To qualify, applicants cannot exceed the annual gross income based on their household size. For example, a 2-person household cannot earn more than $62,640 a year to qualify.

Rendering of the proposed development.

Innovia is an affordable rental project near the new Warm Springs/South Fremont BART station being developed by St. Anton Communities, in collaboration with the City of Fremont, Citibank, RBC Capital Markets, and Lennar.

The community has the density of 47.5 du/ac, with 290 units dedicated to

Income limits by household size.

Rendering of mixed-use buildings at the development.

57

RECOMMENDATIONS

Retail lines the base fronting the walkway connecting the affordable community to the greater master plan area. Innovation Way, a pedestrian path, runs as a central spine through the community, creating distinct pockets and connecting the community entrance to the new BART Plaza. The master plan offers public gathering spaces of pocket parks, pool decks and active paseos. Retail spaces serve to enhance this thriving walkable neighborhood that provides residents a place to live, work, shop and play.

The potential for our site to be denser and greener (above), as opposed to a sea of parking (below).

Lower Aramingo Avenue

NEW SITE PLAN

Protected bike lane

RECOMMENDATIONS

Pedestrian path connecting Belgrade St

Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Develoopment

SeniorFocused Affordable Units

Commercial liner buildings along Aramingo Ave 58

Lowername Aramingo of focus Avenue area

PROPOSED PROGRAMS + POLICY

BEFORE

1. Rezone from CA-2 to CMX-3 to create a walkable and dense community near riverfront 2. Implement mixed income development plan by requiring developers to reserve 30% of units at below-market-rate for any new development, and of those 30%, 10% should be reserved for senior tenants 3. Incentivize stormwater infrastructure development through tax deductions for building green infrastructure.

Thre will be an improved bus station and market stand in the development.

PROPOSED PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS

AFTER

Rendering by Xinyi Qiu

59

DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Add a commercial liner building to Plot A to further the new pedestrian character of Fishtown Crossing 2. Enhance bus service with improved bus shelters to better connect the Richmond Elementary School and Adaire Elementary School with Cione Recreation Center.

3. Establish healthy food adjacent to improved bus stops.

4. Lower speed limit and implement signage to indicate senior and student crossings.

5. Create protected bike lane.

6. Create pedestrian trail between the two parts of Belgrade St through the development on Lower Aramingo.

Lower Aramingo Avenue

IMPLEMENTATION OF Lower Aramingo Avenue COST $

low

$$ $$$ $$$$ $$$$$

high

3-5 YEARS

1-3 YEARS

RECOMMENDATIONS

• • • • •

KEY PARTNERS

• Change zoning from CA-2 to CMX-3 • Tactical improvements to bus stops Post elderly crossing and children crossing signs along Lower Armingo Ave Install temporary bike-lane protection Identify developers for the development

Budget: $$ Funding Sources: •

60

Street Furniture Program

OTIS Zoning Board of Adjustments

• • • • •

Liner buildings on Plot A against Aramingo Ave Lower speed limit on Aramingo Ave Construct permanent bike-lane protection Design phase of development Create pedestrian foopath reconnecting Belgrade Street, crossing Aramingo

Budget: $$$$ Funding Sources: • • • • •

Safe Routes Philly Multimodal Transportation Fund Housing Choice Voucher Program Low Income Housing Tax Credits Philadelphia Housing Trust Fund

Lower Aramingo Avenue

KEY PARTNERS • • • • •

OTIS PennDOT NKCDC Private developer Philadelphia Housing Authority

•

Construct mixed-income apartments at Fishtown Crossing shopping mall for easy access to riverfront amentities and anchor businesss

Budget: $$$$$ Funding Sources: • • • •

KEY PARTNERS • • • •

•

OTIS SEPTA Cedar Reality Trust Riverwards Licensing & Inspections Community Group DRWC

Street Furniture Program Housing Choice Voucher Program Low Income Housing Tax Credits Philadelphia Housing Trust Fund

61

RECOMMENDATIONS

d m

5-10 YEARS

Belgrade Street

RESIDENTIAL MOVEMENT STREETS: Belgrade Street

Belgrade Street runs through both neighborhoods North to South and is home to important community assets such as public schools and churches. Beautifying the street, creating transit options, and community placemaking will help link the two, divided neighborhoods.

Fresh food stand

Lehigh Viaduct underpass

RICHMOND ELEMENTARY

Community Land Trust

RECOMMENDATIONS

SITE-WIDE THOROUGHFARE Belgrade Street is a local one-way streets running East/West between Fishtown and Port Richmond. Most innerneighborhood schools and greenspaces fall within a few square blocks of this thoroughfare, including the important locations such as Adaire Elementary, Richmond Elementary, Fishtown Crossing/Aramingo Ave, Allegheny Ave, and Campbell Square. In intersecting the core riverfront connector streets of Allegheny and Aramingo Ave, it provides a second tier of connections to the riverfront.

62

Teaching garden

ADAIRE ELEMENTARY

Belgrade St pedestrian connection

Fresh food stand

The first challenge that Belgrade faces is that it is bifurcated by the Fishtown Crossing big box development on Lower Aramiongo Ave. It forces pedestrians to cross a long intersection on a high-speed, 5-lane arterial in addition to multiple

large ground parking lots. This makes the path from Port Richmond to Fishtown, and vice versa, a biker and pedestrian nightmare.

Belgrade Street

1. Establish teaching gardens on open spaces adjacent to public schools.

2. Expand Safe Route to School program by which offering assisted biking and walking to school children across Belgrade St and codify presence of crossing guards at Aramingo Ave and Allegheny Ave. 3. Establish community-owned housing and preserve affordability with a land trust on the block between Allegheny Ave, Livingston St, Belgrade St, and Clementine St. Continue legacy after.

4. Create funding plan through RCOs to fundraise for school repairs.

There are three underpasses connecting Fishtown and Port Richmond. They are all in poor conditions with cracked sidewalks, poor lighting conditions, and no bike lanes. By addressing the delapidated conditions of the underpass under the Lehigh Viaduct, creating a protected bike lane, and expanding the Safe Routes to School program, Belgrade St will serve as a beacon of safe access between Fishtown and Port Richmond. While the lack of clear connectivity between the two neighborhoods may be what insulates Port Richmond from much of the market activity and growth in Fishtown, creating a safe connection for those who do traverse the two neighborhoods for work, school, or leisure should be a priority.

While, as of today, Port Richmond has been safeguarded from the wave of increasing land values and out-pricing of many tenents in Fishtown, this does not mean that they will be protected long-term. For this reason, a community-owned land trust should be created. It is well-known that the most expensive cost in real estate is land, not structures. By establishing a community land trust, residents will avoid being pushed out of their neighborhood as prices rise. If they wish to sell, they can still make a profit but would sell at lower prices and keep the character of their neighborhood.

teaching garden:

Small gardens and lesson plans that teach children how to plant seeds, nurture growing plants, harvest produce with the goal of teaching the value of good eating habits.

63

RECOMMENDATIONS

PROPOSED PROGRAMS + POLICY

Belgrade Street

Rendering by Claudia Aliff

AFTER

Renderings of the Lehigh Viaduct underpass (above) after interventions and the intersection of Belgrade St and Allegheny Ave facing Campbell Square (below).

RECOMMENDATIONS

AFTER

BELGRADE U N D E R PA SS B E FO R E

Rendering by Emily Kennedy.

64

As shown in our discussion of existing conditions, healthy food access in Port Richmond is limited. Because Belgrade is home to two elementary schools in both of the neighborhoods within the site boundary, it presents a ripe opportunity to program the recreational fields adjacent to these as teaching gardens.

By using these as teaching gardens, the program will instill the value and skillset of gardening and healthy eating. This programming will work in tandem with the Healthy Corner Store initiative on Allegheny Ave to create a generation of healthier eaters.

Finally, Adaire and Richmond Elementary are facing subpar conditions. Because school conditions are largely tied to income, we suggest that RCOs work together to create fundraising events that reserve funds for school improvements.

Issues such as walkability, bikeability, and connectivity are addressed on Belgrade St, as well as maintaining affordability and food access.

Belgrade Street

BEFORE

AFTER

PROPOSED PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS 1. Improve safety of the Belgrade/Lehigh Underpass through lighting, murals, and bicycle infrastructure.

2. Create a one-way, protected bicycle lane along Belgrade that promotes movement in both directions between the neighborhoods.

3. Improve facilities at Richmond Elementary and Adaire Elementary to provide better play spaces, public restrooms, flexible benches, mini gardens, and green stormwater infrastructure as these spaces will be used as a market for food cooperatives 4. Create pedestrian trail between the two parts of Belgrade St through the development on Lower Aramingo.

65

RECOMMENDATIONS

While this plan only outlines the creation of a land trust on one block of land, we hope it gives an example of what is possible when only the structure on the land is resellable.

Belgrade Street

IMPLEMENTATION OF Belgrade Street COST $

low

$$ $$$ $$$$ $$$$$

high

3-5 YEARS

1-3 YEARS •

RECOMMENDATIONS

• • • •

Identify RCOs that will be fundraising for school improvements Install on-road bike lane protection Install beautification and lighting improvement of Belgrade underpass Start acquring residential propreties for community land trust Safe Routes to School expanded

KEY PARTNERS • • • • •

Budget: $ Funding Sources: • •

66

Community Fundraising Philadelphia Activies Fund Grant

•

School District of Philadelphia Philadelphia Streets Department Mural Arts Program Philadelphia Food Trust Community Organizations (SoPo, ORCA, Friends of Fishtown) Womens Revitalization Fund

• • •

Full programming at teaching garden at Adaire and Richmond Elementary Sidewalk repairs on Lehigh underpass Permanent bike lane infrastructure

Budget: $$$$ Funding Sources: • •

Philadelphia Streets Department Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development

Belgrade Street

5-10 YEARS • • • • • •

Kensington Food Co-Op Philadelphia Streets Department GetHealthy Philly The Food Trust NKCDC Philadelphia Horticultural Society

• •

Begin restoration & repairs for both Adaire & Richmond Elementary All of the block between Belgrade St, Allegheny Ave, Livingston St, and Clementine St part of land trust

Budget: $$$$$ Funding Sources: • •

KEY PARTNERS • •

School District of Philadelphia Community Organizations (SoPo, ORCA, Friends of Fishtown)

Community Fundraising Capital Improvement Program

67

RECOMMENDATIONS

KEY PARTNERS

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

BUSINESS CORRIDOR: Allegheny Avenue & Richmond Street Allegheny Avenue and Richmond Street are the commercial heart of Port Richmond and can serve as points of access to transportation and the riverfront as well as promote healthy food options in this underserved area.

NEIGHBORHOOD-SCALE COMMERCIAL

RECOMMENDATIONS

Allegheny Ave is currently the local commercial center of Port Richmond.

Its character is starkly different from the larger big box commercial real estate that line Aramingo and Castor Avenues, with two -to-three story buildings bordering wide but unprogramed sidewalks. There are various issues that, if addressed, have the potential to add longstanding vibrancy to the commercial corridor.

The length of this street is filled with Eastern European, particularly Polish, commercial uses ranging from a Polish bank to a Polish deli. By exhalting and providing support to the already existing identity of this corridor, Allegheny has the potential to provide more food and activities to the neighborhood and city.

A few challenges stand in the way of the corridot living up to its full potential. For example, sidewalks are wide (30ft) but unused. By adding street furniture and 68

encouraging outdoor dining, new life can be brought to the sidewalk. Another obstacle to a truly vibrant commercial corridor is the wide and fast-moving nature of Allegheny Ave. While its role as a connector between the MFL and the riverfront is important for all modes of transit, it is not living up to its full potential and only working for cars.

Along those lines, the connection between Port Richmond and the waterfront, particularly Pulaski Park, is hindered by the I-95 underpass and large plots adjacent to it on Richmond St. Currently, there are two halves of a park that, if connected, could aid in managing storm water and mobility between the areas. The emphasis will be on softening these divides through physical improvements.

Finally, safer and increased access to the MFL would make movement more equitable accross the corridor.

PROPOSED PROGRAMS + POLICY 1. Continue Healthy Corner Store initiative on Allegheny and Richmond Streets.

2. Continue Safe Routes to School crossing guard program to ensure safety for pedestrians and students.

3. Create and leverage loan and business learning opportunities for existing businesses through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development 4. Improve service consistency on SEPTA Line 60 to ensure access to and from Market-Frankford Line, Richmond Street, and the Riverfront via Allegheny Ave. 5. Create business land trust to ensure longevity of businesses.

6. Install healthy food stand on corner of Belgrade and Allegheny.

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

CASE STUDY: Anchorage, AK Community Land Trust

Because CLTs have built up around housing, moving into commercial spaces means that organizations have to take on new capacity. It also means higher prices for property, and unlike with affordable housing, there are few resources dedicated to commercial development that non-profit organizations can access. Savvy groups, however, are finding options, such as using the New Markets Tax Credit program.

Anchorage, Alaska is home to one CLT that is proving the potential of the model in commercial spaces. Between 2003 and 2012, the Anchorage Community Land Trust bought and developed nine commercial properties in Anchorage’s Mountain View neighborhood, and moved in 24 commercial tenants. The area lacked a full-service bank, and so the Anchorage CLT’s first project was to turn a vacant gas station into a credit union. Next, it transformed an empty

“We understood that in order to have a successful community where people moved in and thrived and built their families, you had to have a viable business corridor that served the needs of the community,” - former Executive Director Jewel Jones

Current state of the Allegheny commercial corridor.

Intimate storefronts have a lot of potential.

Photo of Grow North Farm, a long-term activation of a space that was being redeveloped with temporary programs like a farmer’s market. Source: anchoragelandtrust.org

69

RECOMMENDATIONS

Photo of Credit Union 1 before and after investment from the CLT. Source: anchoragelandtrust.org

furniture warehouse into office space for non-profits. In addition to its role as developer, the Anchorage CLT also emerged as an advocate, and its efforts helped bring resources like a library and a cell phone network branch into the neighborhood.

The membership and governance structure remains community-controlled, which means that decisions which affect how businesses can gain access to a CLT are decided by the full community instead of a subset of community members or a nonrepresentative public entity.

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

BEFORE

RECOMMENDATIONS

PROPOSED PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS 1. Redesign Allegheny Ave to calm traffic and improve pedestrian and cyclist experience with bike lanes, medians, and thinner driving lanes.

2. Imrpove bus stops and street furniture along the avenue’s sidewalks.

3. Revamp the Route 15 trolley and update the transit loop on Richmond Street.

4. Use the I-95 underpass to create a continuous green stormwater management system between Monkiewicz Playground and the intersection of Allegheny and Richmond and connect to the waterfront at Pulaski Park.

70

AFTER

Rendering by Emily Kennedy

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

BEFORE

AFTER

PLACEHOLDER for hand-drawn street sections of Allegheny - current, medium term, long term

71

RECOMMENDATIONS

MID-TERM

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

BEFORE

Looking north up Richmond Street before (above) and after (below) the Route 15 trolley loop is redone and the corner activated with retail and community buildings. The Sunoco gas station and wawa are still accessible. behind the buildings.

RECOMMENDATIONS

AFTER

WAW

72

Rendering by Claudia Aliff

A

Allegheny Community/ Business Land Trust

SEPTA Transit Loop

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

The intersection at Richmond Street and Allegheny is a key location for the connection of Port Richmond and the waterfront. Both halves of Monkievicz Park are currently disconnected from each other due to the I-95 underpass.

Monkievicz Park underpass revamp

By creating physical connections such as a green median across Delaware Avenue and another across Allegheny towards the new Grafitti Pier Park, the intersection at Richmond and Allegheny will serve as a more effective connection between Port Richmond and the waterfront. Along with other recommended interventions on neighbrohood connector streets like Belgrade Street, the corridors will bridge together the vibrant economic sectors of Lower Aramingo and Allegheny.

Neighborhood-scale retail 73

RECOMMENDATIONS

RICHMOND/ALLEGHENY INTERSECTION

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

IMPLEMENTATION OF Allegheny Avenue & Richmond Street COST $

low

$$ $$$ $$$$ $$$$$

high

3-5 YEARS

1-3 YEARS

RECOMMENDATIONS

• • • • •

Continue Healthy Corner Store Initiative Continue Safe Routes to School crossing guard program Implement tactical streetscape improvements such as a temporary buffer for the bike lanes Business Land Trust starts acquiring property Install food stand

Budget: $$ Funding Sources: 74

• • • •

Community Development Block Grant Philadelphia Department of Public Health Philadelphia Streets Department Business Oportunities Fund

• • • • •

KEY PARTNERS

OTIS GetHealthy Philly The Food Trust Philadelphia Streets Department Womens Revitalization Fund

• •

Create and leverage loan and business learning opportunities for existing businesses Improve Route 60 frequency and improve bus stops, traffic signal prioritization, and stop consolidation

Budget: $$$ Funding Sources: • • •

Development PennDOT Low Income Tax Credits

Allegheny Ave & Richmond Street

5-10 YEARS • • • •

OTIS SEPTA Philadelphia Streets Department Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development

• •

Use the I-95 underpass to create a continuous green stormwater management system Business land trust has control of 60% of land on Allegheny Avenue

Budget: $$$ Funding Sources: •

PennDOT

KEY PARTNERS

• • • • • •

OTIS Philadelphia Water Department Philadelphia Streets Department Mural Arts Program NKCDC Womens Revitalization Fund

75

RECOMMENDATIONS

KEY PARTNERS

Riverfront on N Delaware Ave

RECOMMENDATIONS

NORTH DELAWARE AVENUE: Today Delaware Avenue serves as a vital thoroughfare across Philadelphia’s eastern riverfront. It traverses the city from Philadelphia’s southern port and finishes in the Bridesburg neighborhood, connecting about 10 miles of the city. While it’s important for vehicular transportation, it’s also important for bicyclists and pedestrians. Therefore, our vision for Delaware Avenue includes Complete Street redesigns within the site boundaries.

Source: Google Maps

76

The fact that this six-lane road is often on the other side of a seven-lane highway underpasses means that it’s paramount that pedestrians feel safe and comfortable crossing to access the riverfront. By improving medians, adding curb bump outs, and adding protected bike lanes, Delaware Avenue will become a lively avenue for all modes of transportation.

Riverfront on N Delaware Ave

Rendering by Emily Kennedy

77

RECOMMENDATIONS

NORTH DELAWARE AVENUE: Tomorrow

Grafitti Pier

THE RIVERFRONT ON N. DELAWARE AVE: Grafitti Pier

RECOMMENDATIONS

Graffiti Pier is an informal open space on the riverfront, notable for providing an experimental outlet to Philadelphia’s graffiti subculture and arts scene. The park intersects Lehigh Avenue on North Delaware Avenue. We see Grafitti Pier as an opportune meeting point to marry climate resiliency to the park’s creative and industrial identity.

Proposals for Graffiti Pier seek to imagine the park as a hub for waterfront recreation tied to long-term climate resiliency strategies.

BEFORE Map of Flood Plain at Grafitti Pier, officially known as Pier 18.

78

CONNECTING A SPECIAL PLACE Grafitti Pier is a beloved landmark in the city. Currently, in the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation’s (DRWC) Master Plan, Grafitti Pier, officially Pier 18, is envisioned as a dynamic anchor of futue riverfront amenities. However, as it stands, the pier is inaccessible to pedrestrians both legally and physically.

In 2018, police cracked down on trespassing in the area and in 2019,

Formalizing a well-loved but informal space in a city brings a set of challenges but also opportunities. With formalizing come two main potential challenges: the loss of character of the place and the increased threat of gentrification as prices rise in response to a new a amenity.

The opportunties that exist in formalizing the park are improved accessibilty to the waterfront from neighboring communities as well as between waterfront green spaces, such as Penn

Finally, Grafitti Pier lies within the 100Year FEMA floodplain, highlighting the importance of climate resiliency to ensuring the longevity of Grafitti Pier.

The following recommendations take these characteristics into account.

Grafitti Pier

Treaty Park. This is particularly salient given that there are no formal entrances to Grafitti Pier and no delineated connections between Penn Treaty Park and Grafitti Pier. However, Beach Street is a potential connector between the two and can be made more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly by taking advantage of the proximity of two public spaces.

PROPOSED PROGRAMS + POLICY 1. Appeal to the city to create a zoning overlay district that coincides with the floodplain in order to preserve open space, minimize erosion from storm water runoff.

2. Rezone Industrial Mixed Use to Commercial Mixed Use near Beach St. 3. Continue to allow informal street art despite the formalization of the pier.

PROPOSED PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS 1. Transform Graffiti Pier into a formal park to serve artists and attract neighborhood residents through neighborhood art classes and a cafĂŠ featuring art from local artists.

2. Integrate green stormwater infrastructure, erosion maintenance, native plants, and permeable pavement designs in order to make the waterfront more resilient.

3. Improve pedestrian and cycling infrastructure along Beach Street to connect Grafitti Pier to Penn Treaty Park.

4. Expand placemaking, wayfinding, and improve street furnishings and plantings to improve safety and access.

Grafitti Pier as it stands today.

79

RECOMMENDATIONS

DRWC became the legal owner of the land, slating it for development into a formal park.

Grafitti Pier

ZONING OVERLAY CHANGES

RECOMMENDATIONS

BEFORE

AFTER

WHAT CHANGES WERE MADE The original zoning along waterfront area was commercial mixed use (CMX-3), industrial commercial mixed use (ICMX) and industrial land (I-2). Most of the waterfront is inaccessible or unused open space. To improve the ecological resilience and capture future development and green space potential, we proposed making a new zoning overlay for the Grafitti Waterfront area. The area within the floodplain should be zoned as parks and open space, preventing the possibility of flooding and providing a better chance to restore waterfront landscape. Some of the commercial space and industrial space are kept to seek future investment and development in this area, but the developing density should be controlled by regulating the height of the building to maintain the continuity of waterfront skyline. Additionally, the density of buildings should also be limited to provide more open space both for the waterfront and for the communities.

80

Grafitti Pier

NEW SITE PLAN

Connector axes

Flood plain

AFTER Beach St waterfront connector

Commercial zoning Grafitti Pier Park 81

RECOMMENDATIONS

Flood mitigation zone

Grafitti Pier

IMPLEMENTATION OF Grafitti Pier COST $

low

$$ $$$ $$$$ $$$$$

high

3-5 YEARS

1-3 YEARS

RECOMMENDATIONS

• • •

Floodplain zoning overlay Improve pedestrian and bicycle connectivity to the waterfront using Complete Streets tactics on Beach Street Create bicycle parking and storage

Budget: $$ Funding Sources: • • 82

Continue use of federal grants to continue Safe Routes Philly Public funds through federal rehabilitation tax credits

• • • • •

KEY PARTNERS OTIS Philadelphia Streets Department SEPTA City Council L&I

• • •

Transform Graffiti Pier into a formal park Expand placemaking and wayfinding Install street trees, stormwater management

Budget: $$$$ Funding Sources: • • •

Program City capital funds Land and Water Conservation Fund of Pennsylvania EPA federal grants

Grafitti Pier

Rendering of Grafitti Pier after proposed physical and programmatic interventions.

Rendering by Liyu Chen

5-10 YEARS • • • • • •

OTIS NKCDC Community Outreach Kensington Community Food Coop Philadelphia Streets Department PennDOT SEPTA

•

KEY PARTNERS

• Install riprap and gabions along the floodplain in order to raise the river’s edge • to prevent erosion •

Budget: $$ Funding Sources: • • •

Program City capital funds Land and Water Conservation Fund of Pennsylvania EPA federal grants

• •

OTIS Philadelphia Water Department Philadelphia Streets Department Mural Arts Program SEPTA

83

RECOMMENDATIONS

KEY PARTNERS

Penn Treaty Park

THE RIVERFRONT ON N. DELAWARE AVE: Penn Treaty Park Penn Treaty Park is a thriving riverfront greenspace, situated along North Delaware Avenue and manageed by the City of Philadelphia. The park borders the Girard I-95 interchange, while easily accessible to Fishtown. The park sits beside the vacant PECO building, a relic of the riverfront’s industrial heritage. The building marks an opportunity to use adaptive re-use to both preserve and expand the riverfront as a public commons serving the neighborhood and drawing residents from across Philadelphia.

PENN TREATY PARK OVERVIEW

RECOMMENDATIONS

Penn Treaty Park is an historic park on the Delaware River waterfront. The park derives its name from an agreement of peace between the Lenape people and William Penn in 1683.

BEFORE 84

To access the park from Fishtown via E Columbia Ave, pedestrians are forced to cross under the 8-lane highway underpass and the 6-lane Delaware Ave. Inactive streetscapes make pedestrians’ perception of commute times seem longer than the same distance on an active one. Wide intersections on fast-moving streets also increase the likelihood of being struck at high speeds.

The lack of engaging streetscape and the expanse of fast-moving vehicles on Delaware Ave create the first set of challenges for Penn Treaty Park.

Penn Treaty Park By addressing connectivity challenges and improving access to the park, invites the opportunity to better connect the existing Delaware River waterfront circuit trail to more users. The trail currently ends at the neighboring PECO site but, there is potential to continue the circuit trail along Beach Street connecting Penn

Treaty Park to Graffiti Pier.

The 223,000-square-foot PECO building has sat vacant since 2004 with various unfulfilled development plans. Although it’s zoned as CMX-3, these plans have likely fallen through due to high levels of contamination. For this contiminated 85

RECOMMENDATIONS

Penn Treaty Park from above (above); the park at sunset (top right, bottom right); children’s programming is part of the amentities currently at Penn Treaty Park (middle right).

Penn Treaty Park

NEW SITE PLAN Community gardens

Connector axes

Flood plain

Underpass redesign

RECOMMENDATIONS

PECO building Delaware Ave intersection redesign

AFTER

Fresh food stand 86

Flood mitigation zone

Along with the industrial building, there are industrial sites neighboring the park.

This land has potential to be cleaned and repurposed for other greening and community uses to make up for the commercialization of the PECO site.

Like Graffiti Pier, Penn Treaty Park is within the 100-Year floodplain. To create a barrier against future flooding and erosion, bolstering the resilience the waterfront through various methods is vital. This concern is of particular importance given that we propose an expensive redevelopment of the PECO building.

The recommendations in this section seek to intertwine this mix of redevelopment and waterfront resiliency.

PROPOSED PROGRAMS + POLICY 1. Continue to provide city wide outdoor programming at Penn Treaty Park.

2. Take advantage of CMX-3 zoning at PECO building site to create a food court and office space.

Penn Treaty Park

PROPOSED PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS 1. Make underpasses connecting Fishtown to the waterfront safe, clean, and beautiful.

2. Complete the circuit trail along the Northern Delaware Riverfront by improving tree cover, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure along Beach Street to connect Grafitti Pier to Penn Treaty Park.

3. Add native plants, such as willow, spirea, Indian grass, and black gumtrees to the river edge, along with stones, to enhance stability and soak up excess water.

4. Integrate wetland mitigation and stormwater management initiatives with efforts to address flooding by installing stormwater planters, bump-outs, trees, and permeable pavements.

5. Install riprap and gabions along the floodplain in order to raise the river’s edge to prevent erosion.

6. Acquire adjacent industrial land to repurpose as community gardens or farms for underserved populations.

Parks on Tap event in Penn Treaty Park.

87

RECOMMENDATIONS

industrial building to be redeveloped, it requires a use that provides high returns to a developer -- eliminating the possibility for it to be repurposed into a community building.

Penn Treaty Park

RECOMMENDATIONS

MAKING THE WATERFRONT MORE RESILIENT

Reclaiming the flood plain for sustainable growth. The PECO building’s use as a food hall would be complemented by an extension of a circuit trail throughout the waterfront.

88

Penn Treaty Park

BEFORE

for the goal of greening the neighborhood, as it will tout rooftop solar installation and green retrofits modeling energy-efficient building redesign. Adjacent properties along the PECO site will also be used as community gardens for local residents to plant and harvest their own produce, further augmenting the goal of improving access to food and green spaces.

The selection of this site as a focus area is vital to the vision of improving access to healthy food and to better linking Fishtown and Port Richmond to the waterfront. The old, PECO building offers the opportunity to serve food access needs to both neighborhoods as well as improving the public space along the riverfront.

PECO BUILDING RETROFIT

AFTER

The goal of the PECO building transformation is to retrofit the building into a farmer’s market catering to vendors distributing locally sourced produce. The site, which is currently zoned as CMX-3, is the perfect place to create a food hub for the neighborhood and offer an attraction for the entire city.

The PECO site will also serve as a model Rendering by Liyu Chen

89

RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to satisfy the vision of greening the neighborhoods and ensuring access to a thriving food hub, the vacant PECO building offers an opportunity to both preserve the industrial history of Penn Treaty Park, as well as expand public space along the riverfront.

Penn Treaty Park

IMPLEMENTATION OF Penn Treaty Park COST $

low

$$ $$$ $$$$ $$$$$

high

3-5 YEARS

1-3 YEARS

RECOMMENDATIONS

• •

Continue outdoor programming along • Start streetscape and crossing • improvements along Delaware Ave and Beach St • Adjacent industrial land acquired by DRWC • • • Budget: $$

Funding Sources: • • • • 90

Flood Mitigation Program (FMP) Street Furniture Program I-95 Improvement Project Infrastructrure and Facilities Improvement Program

KEY PARTNERS

DVRPC NKCDC Community Outreach PennDOT City of Philadelphia Safe Routes Philly

• • •

Beautification of I-95 underpass Developer identified for the PECO building Adjacent industrial land developed into community gardens

Budget: $$$ Funding Sources: • • • •

Key Stone Opportunity Zone I-95 Improvement Project Flood Mitigation Program Industrial Site Reuse Program

Penn Treaty Park

5-10 YEARS • • • • •

DVRPC NKCDC Community Outreach PennDOT City of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development

• •

PECO building in redevelopment Penn Treaty Park and Grafitti Pier fully connected through Beach St and seen as complementary public

Budget: $$$$$ Funding Sources: • • • •

KEY PARTNERS

• • •

DVRPC City of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development

Flood Mitigation Program Historic Preservation Tax Credit Private developer Industrial Sites Reuse Program.

91

RECOMMENDATIONS

KEY PARTNERS

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

92

The North Delaware Riverfront Communities 2030 Plan envisions a resilient Fishtown and Port Richmond where the North Delaware Ave corridor functions to bridge the neighboring residential communities to their shared riverfront. This resident-focused neighborhood plan seeks to address current issues of street connectivity and food access, change and development pressures, as well as ensure climate resiliency and adaptation for the future. This plan sets out a 10-year timeline to coincide with the City of Philadelphia’s 2035 strategic plan, while leaving a 5-year buffer to continue to meet the City's goals. The intention of aligning this plan with Philadelphia 2035 is to ensure implementation can be staggered to support ongoing planning efforts within these communities. This plan hopes to achieve the following five goals in order to improve the North Delaware Ave corridor, as well as the neighborhoods of Fishtown and Port Richmond:

Despite the differences in Fishtown and Port Richmond, we hope that through this plan, both neighborhoods can benefit from improved access and connectivity to the neighborhood's dynamic corridors, as well as from reclaiming the waterfront as a communal space that reflects the identity and history of these unique communities. Through the recommendations we have outlined, we hope the North Delaware Avenue corridor and its neighboring communities, will be a vibrant, connected, and resilient place for all residents now, and in the years to come.

93

CONCLUSION

1. Enhance connectivity between and beyond the neighborhoods 2. Build a green and communal waterfront 3. Put in place the infrastructure to maintain a healthy community 4. Foment economic agency and protect small businesses 5. Mitigate displacement and manage external development pressure

appendix

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX 1. Riverwards Plan: Riverwards District Plan 2015, August 18, 2015, DRWC Report: Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, Master Plan for the Central Delaware: Transforming Philadelphia’s Waterfront, October 2011 2. DRWC Report: Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, Master Plan for the Central Delaware: Transforming Philadelphia’s Waterfront, October 2011 3. Zoning/Land Use: City of Philadelphia Department of Planning and Development: Philadelphia Zoning Code Information Manual Quick Guide, February 13, 2020 4. Information about Permits: City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections 5. Floodplain Data: Federal Emergency Management Agency 6. Lead Contamination: Ruderman, Wendy, Barbara Laker, and Dylan Purcell. “In Booming Philadelphia Neighborhoods, Lead-Poisoned Soil Is Resurfacing.” https://www.inquirer.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 26, 2019. https://www.inquirer.com/news/inq/philadelphia-lead-soil-fishtownconstruction-dust-20170618.html.

7. 15-min city: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/9/6/7-rules-for-creating-15-minuteneighborhoods 8. Route 15 Trolley Modernization: https://www.dvrpc.org/Reports/18028.pdf 9. School Safety Data: https://webapps1.philasd.org/school_finder/, https://www.niche.com/, https:// www.philasd.org/capitalprograms 10. Safe Routes to Healthy Food: https://www.saferoutespartnership.org/resources/report/srthfaction-agenda 11. Neighborhood Assets: https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/st-laurentius-church-fishtown-phillydemolition-report-licenses-and-inspections-20191219.

12. Environmental/Industrial contamination: https://www.olderichmond.org/galvo 13. Development: https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/fairmount-delaware-mcgovern-apartmentshistoric-rowhouse-federal-style-bus-storage-lot-20200130.html 94

appendix 95

CONCLUSION

14. Transit Map: SEPTA. http://www.septa.org/ 15. Commuting Flow Data: United States Census Bureau. https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/ 16. I-95 Reconstruction: PennDOT. http://95revive.com/ 17. Lower Aramingo Case Study: City of Fremont, California. https://www.fremont.gov/3609/InnoviaApartments 18. Pictures: 19. Fishtown SEPTA bus: Campus Philly. https://campusphilly.org/tag/fishtown/ 20. Innovia at Warm Springs. https://www.innoviawarmsprings.com/ 21. https://www.curbed.com/2017/1/9/14183876/freeway-underpass-park-public 22. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/industrial-neighborhoods/ 23. https://www.workshopoftheworld.com/richmond_bridesburg/richmond_bridesburg.html 24. Complete Streets, Baltimore: https://www.baltimorecompletestreets.com/ 25. Underpass photo. https://www.libraryasincubatorproject.org/?p=2028 26. Port Richmond Pierogi Fest. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/port-richmond- pierogi-festtickets-91085247427 27. https://www.redfin.com/PA/Philadelphia/616-Belgrade-St-19125/ home/38470624 28. Healthy Corner Store Initaitive. http://thefoodtrust.org/uploads/media_items/healthy-cornerstore-overview.original.pdf 29. Commercial Land Trusts. https://tacklingcommercialgentrification.wordpress.com/about/landownership-entities/community-land-trusts/ 30. Commercial Land Trusts. https://ilsr.org/rule/community-ownership-commercia-spaces/ commercial-community-land-trust/

CONCLUSION 96

CONCLUSION

97

98

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MASTER OF CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING SPRING 2020 WORKSHOP