regionalism : Development News

When the planners of Penn Praxis designed the Civic Vision for the Central Delaware, they envisioned a bustling commercial waterfront loaded with restaurants, shopping, and, above all, green space. As development plans have begun, projects like the Race Street Pier and Pier 53 have brought parks to areas previously disconnected from green space, raising property values and public health in the process. Penn Praxis returns this week with its latest plan, Green 2015, an action plan designed to add 500 acres of open space to Philadelphia by 2015.

Green 2015 is a response to the Greenworks Sustainability Plan, issued by the Nutter Administration, to add 500 acres to the equity of the city, giving special focus to those areas without proper park access. Penn Praxis unveils this plan at the today's Urban Sustainability Forum at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

"In the report, we try to address people who might ask why we would invest in something like this during such tough economic times," says Penn Praxis Executive Director Harris Steinberg. "How do we serve those areas who are underserved? By adding those economic as well as social, environmental and public health benefits of green space."

Even with these considerations, cost is a concern. So the plan focuses first on using city-owned land to reduce acquisition costs, focusing on school yards, rec centers and vacant lands in under-greened neighborhoods, giving planners more than 1,000 acres to work with. The plan also examines storm water management goals set forth by the EPA, adding funding to these initiatives. Mayor Nutter and Parks and Recreation Commissioner Michael DiBerardinis will be on hand Tuesday to mark the official start of this action plan.

"There is a lot of collaboration across many different agencies, which I think bodes very well," says Steinberg. "It is always hard during tough economic times because you have to strike a balance between existing resources and getting the most out of your work but we expect a positive response overall."

Source: Harris Steinberg, Penn Praxis
Writer: John Steele

While the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) remains hard at work on the Philadelphia 2035 plan--a strategic, long-term document focused on creating a stronger future for Philadelphia's transit and development--another group of planners have gotten in on the act. What these planners lack in knowledge, they more than make up for in experience living in Philadelphia and observing the functionality of city design and services.

These concerned community members are part of a pilot program called the Citizen's Planning Institute (CPI), an educational program working to empower citizens to make their voices heard in the planning process. Funded by the William Penn Foundation, CPI offers basic lessons in everything from land use to zoning issues, placing extra emphasis on under-represented communities around Philadelphia, in the hopes of creating more dynamic, city-wide development.

"We targeted specifically neighborhoods not as experienced with the process to be more active and effective with a focus on a "planning 101 approach," says CPI Director Donna Carney. "So they could see that they have the power to change their neighborhoods through this process."

The pilot program attracted 100 applicants, of which 30 were chosen to represent their neighborhoods. The resulting panel contained over 850 years of Philadelphia residency and helped shape a planned expansion to the program in 2011. The current students "graduate" when the courses conclude on Dec. 6 but plans are already in the works to add elective topics such as urban design, historic preservation, marketing and finance.

"As we expand on the program going forward, a whole variety of outreach activities could be handled by the Citizen's Planning Institute in the future," says PCPC Director of Planning and Policy Alan Urek.  "We would look to it to help inform some of the recommendations on the comprehensive plan."

Source: Donna Carney, Citizen's Planning Institute
Writer: John Steele

In the past decade, traffic on US Route 422 has increased by 50 percent. The highway spur that connects Hershey to King of Prussia has seen many efforts to reduce traffic--from narrowing lanes to adding a third lane in some sections--go nowhere. After publishing a master plan for 422, which included an extension to SEPTA's R6 as well as several roadway improvements, municipalities were stuck on the issue of tolling, a measure many municipalities originally opposed.

To explore the tolling possibility, a group of local and regional government agencies created the 422plus Project, an outreach campaign to create awareness and get public reaction. For their latest effort, project officials tapped former Fox 29 features reporter Gerald Kolpan to create a video survey gauging public reaction to tolling and the proposed 422 improvements.

"When people hear the word 'toll' they are generally upset and don't want to pay it," says Kolpan. "But one of the things we found out was that, if you ask the question correctly, people really weren't averse to paying. If the money that is raised on 422 stays on 422 and doesn't end up in some project in Western Pennsylvania, Harrisburg or Washington, only one person we talked to said they would be opposed."

Talking with business leaders and everyday drivers, Kolpan gets a man-on-the-street view of everything from traffic to tolls. Beyond where the money is going, Kolpan says, citizens worry that toll booths will further congest traffic and prefer some sort of automatic system, like high-speed EZ-Pass transponders for all drivers. The video survey and the 422plus Project's other efforts will culminate in a final report on the pros and cons of tolling, which will be released in 2011.

"One of the biggest problems that people have is that they don't have any alternative to driving, unless you want to take a horse or a bicycle," says Kolpan. "Fixing 422 is very important to them and they are waiting to see what the findings are."

Source: Gerald Kolpan, 422plus Project
Writer: John Steele

While often seen as intractable bureaucracy, zoning matters. And it isn't just city officials who think so. When the issue of creating a more accessible zoning code went to a vote in 2008, it received nearly unanimous support. Since you can't build so much as a doghouse in Philadelphia without examining the zoning code, the Zoning Code Commission created a list of criteria that even the least savvy builder could sift through, holding numerous public meetings and taking suggestions online for how to make things clearer. Now, with the plan entering its final draft stage, the ZCC is making one final call for suggestions, notes and edits before the code goes before the City Council in December.

"We have changed the structure so it is much more apparent what is located where, including maps and charts and graphic illustrations throughout the code," says Zoning Code Commission Executive Director Eva Gladstein. "We have heard from so many citizens. We heard from concerned parents worrying about daycare standards. We have heard from a number of architects who felt that the original design standards were too prescriptive. There are so many examples."

Over the last two years, the Zoning Code Commission has attempted to explain the importance of zoning with ZoningMatters.org, the online home of the new zoning code where citizens have been making suggestions and helping shape the new code. The ZCC will continue to accept suggestions through November 12 with the hopes of having a new code in place before the first of the year.

"Our zoning code last had a comprehensive update in the early 1960's so the world has changed drastically since that time," says Gladstein. "What kind of uses could be next to you or down the street? Where can you put a pizza shop or a theater? Where can offices or manufacturing be located? It affects your front yard, your backyard and where you live and work."

Source: Eva Gladstein, Zoning Code Commission
Writer: John Steele

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a cool new house being built in the neighborhood? Please send your development news tips here.

With a centralized location just 20 miles outside Philadelphia and one of the highest median incomes in the state of New Jersey, Voorhees is a growing suburban community that has increased in population by 28,000 in the last 10 years. But before it can fulfill its potential, development professionals and city officials believe, it needs one thing that every great town has: a central hub. But like many residential areas and nearby cities, Voorhees has no Main Street, no central gathering place. So the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust created Voorhees Town Center, a mixed use shopping, dining and residential destination, bringing all the features of a vibrant downtown to Voorhees in one localized complex. City officials are on board, as Mayor Michael Mignogna announced this week that Voorhees' Town Hall will become the first city office to be located within the complex, adding legitimacy to the project as a true center point for this suburban community.

"Moving the Voorhees Town Hall to the Voorhees Town Center is another step in creating something that Voorhees has never had--a 'downtown,'" says Mignogna in a statement. "It will be a place for families to eat, drink, shop, conduct business and share community events. The Voorhees Town Center will become the 'heartbeat of our community.'"

Located at the former Echalon Mall, national, regional and local vendors sit alongside the Rizzieri Aveda School for Beauty & Wellness and Bayada Nurses. Upscale residences and office spaces overlook tree-lined pathways, benches and fountains, creating a Main Street feel that developers feel was sorely lacking in Voorhees. The addition of Voorhees Town Hall further diversifies this new community center.

"The addition of Voorhees Town Hall solidifies Voorhees Town Center as a true town center for the community," says PREIT President of Services Joseph Coradino. "This alternative use, coupled with the upscale residential component, differentiates Voorhees Town Center in a highly competitive marketplace."

Source: Joseph Coradino, PREIT
Writer: John Steele

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a cool new house being built in the neighborhood? Please send your development news tips here.

Since adopting the Civic Vision for the Central Delaware plan in 2008, city planners have considered mixed use development and even new transit options to draw visitors to the Delaware waterfront. But according to a new study released October 25 by Penn Future and the Coalition for Philadelphia's Waterfronts, all they need to do is add green space. If they do, the study claims, the city will see $30-$40 million in annual health care savings, $800 million in aggregate household wealth gains and up to $24 million annually in new tax revenues from increased tourism activities and higher property values. This report will help shape city planning decisions as various city agencies look to complete waterfront plans in the next year.

"We were not playing the role of advocate with this report and, if anything, erred on the side of conservatism so as not to be seen as overstating," says Lee Huang, a report consultant from University City's EConsult. "We see this report as useful as city planners weigh the costs and benefits of building the waterfront greenway. As you can see, there is a long list of beneficiaries to this project."

Health care savings from people using bike lanes and pedestrian trails are significant. But the largest increase would come from what the report calls the "equity of access," whereby properties in waterfront-adjacent neighborhoods would now be within walking distance of parks and waterfront activities, increasing home values. This benefit has been observed in cities like Atlanta, Ga. and helps legitimize projects, like the Race Street Pier greenway, that are already underway.

"The universe of people that are not currently near an outdoor amenity is about 98,000 individuals representing 44,000 households," says Huang. "That is a very important consideration to keep in mind."

Source: Lee Huang, EConsult
Writer: John Steele

When Community Design Collaborative (CDC) Executive Director Beth Miller ran into volunteer Scott Page at Reading Terminal Market two years ago, a chat about their favorite Amish pastries turned to what was next in industrial redevelopment. Page mentioned a partnership between Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and the City Planning Commission to create an industrial reuse strategy. CDC's Infill Philadelphia project was already on the lookout for opportunities to lend a hand and this project seemed like a perfect fit.

In February, Infill Philadelphia launched its Industrial Sites initiative, a design proposal contest searching for three types of industrial redevelopment. The Neighborhood anchor focused on creating an incubator for new industry. Mixed-use focused on creating new industry side-by-side with housing. And the Making Connections challenge coupled industry with environment to create an industrial campus and riverfront amenity in one. Three volunteer design firms unveiled redevelopment proposals to the design community in May. On Tuesday, CDC released a publication to show off the projects to the rest of the city.

"Industrial redevelopment is one of those problems that seems unsolvable," says Miller. "There are so many older buildings out there and nobody quite knows what to do with them. We thought this was a good strategy to showcase a new generation of urban industry."

The Industrial Sites initiative is the third phase for Infill, an ongoing redevelopment advisory project that has worked on affordable housing, commercial corridors and food access. With their new publication showing what they can do, Miller hopes to draw inspiration for her next project.

"We hope to make this an ongoing thing through our service grants, so non-profits can apply to us to address an industrial site in their neighborhood," says Miller. "We've already gotten two or three applications like that so we hope to continue that work on a case-by-case basis."

Source: Beth Miller, Infill Philadelphia
Writer: John Steele

In science fiction novels and books about the future, a few technologies are boilerplate: flying cars, meals in pill form and the ability to teleport instantly from place to place. National commuter rail company Amtrak took another step toward teleportation on Tuesday with its announcement of a high-speed rail vision plan. In Tuesday's news conference from University City's 30th Street Station, with Governor Ed Rendell on hand, Amtrak officials laid out their goal to create a line with average speeds well over 130 mph, saving passengers between one and two hours on average.

"Amtrak is putting forward a bold vision of a realistic and attainable future that can revolutionize transportation, travel patterns and economic development in the Northeast for generations," says Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman.

The plan, entitled A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, proposes a full build-out to be completed by 2040. Its construction, Amtrak says, would create more than 40,000 full-time jobs annually over a 25-year period, building new track, tunnels, bridges, stations, and other infrastructure. Predictably, the cost for such a project is high, $4.7 billion annually over 25 years. But Amtrak's feasibility studies peg the Northeast as a "mega-region" capable of drawing the type of rail traffic to make such an investment profitable. And with some premier legislative voices like New Jersey's Frank Lautenberg and Massachusetts' John Kerry already voicing their support, we may be teleporting out of 30th Street Station sooner than we think.

"Amtrak's High Speed Rail plan will create jobs, cut pollution and help us move towards a modern and reliable transportation system network in the Northeast," said Kerry in a recent statement. "As countries around the world continue to build out their transportation systems, we
cannot afford to fall further behind. This is an important down payment on the massive commitment necessary to bridge our infrastructure gap." 

Source: Joseph Boardman, Amtrak
Writer: John Steele

Walking down your neighborhood grocery aisle could have you believe your food traveled from around the world; that Mama Celeste brought her frozen pizzas straight from an Italian kitchen or that Log Cabin Syrup was tapped in a redwood cottage in the Pacific Northwest. In fact both those brands and many of your favorite foods are produced by the same local company. Pinnacle Foods, headquartered in Cherry Hill, NJ,produces everything from pickles to pretzels to cake mix, all from the same tidy corporate offices. But with its newest brand acquisition, frozen vegetable manufacturer Birds Eye Foods, Pinnacle had outgrown its current facility. This week, after a summer spent renovating a former Cherry Hill steel mill, Pinnacle dropped the curtain on its new corporate center.

"The reason for the new facility is because the company is growing and expanding," says Pinnacle VP of Corporate Affairs David Socolow. "With this acquisition, we have really reached big-company status, doing millions of transactions a year and all of those transactions are handled through this new facility. Our old facility was starting to get a little tight."

The announcement is big news for Cherry Hill, which offered business improvement and business retention grants totaling $1,102,600. This assistance was considered a major factor in Pinnacle's decision to remain and grow in South Jersey. The 57,000-sq-ft facility will allow Pinnacle to add 90 new jobs and keep an additional 130 jobs in the region. But according to Socolow, there was another reason Pinnacle kept operations close to home.

"Ultimately, we wanted to retain our existing, high-quality, well-trained workforce," says Socolow. "And also, this is a great place to attract new people. Because we are hiring to expand our company, this is a great place to attract talent in the food industry."

Source: David Socolow, Pinnacle Foods
Writer: John Steele

Of all the stations on all the car stereos in all the world, Philadelphia entrepreneur Hal Real's dial happened to stumble on 88.5 one afternoon and a live music institution was born. An avid concert-goer, Real became frustrated with Philadelphia's smoky stages. When he heard WXPN's World Cafe, hosted by David Dye, he knew he had found his live music muse.

Six years later, World Cafe Live is one of the most popular music venues in Philadelphia, driving a nightlife crowd to a sparse section of UPenn's campus. Earlier this summer, Real began a crusade to bring live music to another underutilized area as his company, Real Entertainment Group redevelops the historic Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del. Real created Light Up The Queen, a non-profit redevelopment group designed to restore this storied theater to its former glory.

"You can't have a monumental building like that sit there like a piece of urban blight," says Real. "It needs to come back to life."

Opened as a vaudeville theater in 1917, the Queen went dark in 1959. But as downtown Wilmington begins a $325 million Market Street redevelopment, buildings like the Queen have been targeted for demolition. Real believes the hype in Wilmington and hopes his venue can help draw visitors from nearby Philadelphia and South Jersey. The Light Up The Queen foundation has already hosted musical acts like Trombone Shorty at public locations around Wilmington to promote the new venue.

"Geographically, Wilmington is smack in the middle of New York City and Washington, DC. It is five minutes off of I-95 and a 10-minute walk to the Amtrak train station," says Real. "That's why Wilmington is going through this great renaissance. Lots more acts would be willing to play Wilmington if they had a venue."

Source: Hal Real, Real Entertainment Group
Writer: John Steele