THE extensive campaign in the media and elsewhere to embrace what has been the mantra of the waterfront “Vision” of Harris Steinberg and PennPraxis — “Grid is good” — misses the mark.
Invoking the name of William Penn to justify an effort to put our most important development resource in suspended animation is bad history and bad planning.
Before we superimpose on more than 1,100 waterfront acres a city grid that is neither Penn’s plan nor grounded in reality, let’s pause to consider the consequences.
Penn’s plan extended from Vine to South, and the Schuylkill to Front, all own ed by him. The riverbed, which forms much of the 1,100 acres, wasn’t part of Charles II’s grant, but was given to the Commonwealth and the new nation by the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
The plan was functional, and visionary, for the 17th century, but never to be inviolate. With funding from Stephen Girard’s will, Delaware Avenue was built outside Penn’s plan in the early 19th century to provide access along the river in aid of the port. In the early 20th century, the western portion of the grid gave way to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Today, the land along the river, overwhelmingly in private ownership, offers opportunities for uses important to the city and region that can’t be accommodated elsewhere, uses that help create jobs, and tax revenues that pay for parks, schools and other essential public services. Responsible planning and rezoning efforts over time have helped transform moribund areas of the former industrial port into vibrant residential, hotel, commercial and entertainment development.
IKEA, Home Depot and Wal-Mart kept jobs and tax dollars in Philadelphia (otherwise lost to New Jersey) and offer families nearby and throughout the city convenient shopping.
The Hyatt contributes to Philadelphia’s tourist industry and brings life to the riverfront. Dave & Buster’s, the first year-round entertainment venue on the river, caters to a broad spectrum of Philadelphia. Residential development like Piers 3 and 5, Dockside and Waterfront Square help repopulate the city.
Penn would understand that a 17th century plan offers little guidance for the 21st, and that the public interest and private development can coexist at the river.
Can we do better? Yes. Is fragmenting larger parcels that offer major opportunities for development the answer? No.
The Delaware River waterfront deserves a thoughtful, well-considered plan, balancing public and private interests.
While the dialog begun by Penn Praxis is useful and should continue, the City Planning Commission, in concert with development agencies, should undertake the heavy lifting of serious analysis of the costs and benefits of planning options.
That analysis, including traffic studies, fiscal and environmental reports and capital funding requirements, is entirely missing from the “Vision.”
This is why four ex-city planning directors, two ex-commerce directors, two ex-heads of PIDC, the current head of PIDC and the head of the building trades put themselves on the line to express their concerns when PennPraxis unveiled the Vision to the Planning Commission on Oct. 16.
THE WATERFRONT is a regional resource. It belongs to all of us, not just the neighborhoods just west of I-95.
Let’s broaden the discourse. The Planning Commission, PennPraxis, the design community, the building trades, residents near and far and the development and investment community should seize the opportunity to continue a measured process to find common ground at the river.
As in Penn’s time, the waterfront remains an important resource to create jobs and attract new residents, which in any vision are the city’s lifeblood.
Craig Schelter, of Schelter & Associates, planning and development consultants, is a former executive director of the City Planning Commission and executive vice president of the Phila. Industrial Development Corp.
Michael Sklaroff is chairman of the real-estate department at the law firm of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, and chairman of the Phila. Historical Commission (and former deputy executive director, Redevelopment Authority).