A 10-acre park planned along the Delaware River waterfront in Northeast Philadelphia took a big step forward Monday with the announcement of a $2 million grant from the William Penn Foundation.
Led by the Riverfront North Partnership, the project was first conceived through a 2015 community engagement project from the William Penn Foundation. Residents sought to transform an empty space that had become deserted after decades of industrial activity.
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“Riverfront North Partnership’s vision is to reconnect our communities to a river that has been inaccessible to them for generations,” said Stephanie Phillips, executive director of Riverfront North Partnership. “Receiving this generous funding from William Penn Foundation, and our partnership with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the City of Philadelphia, enables us to work with our community to create a river park that is an integral part of life for our neighbors, as well as a city-wide destination.”
The estimated cost of the park as a whole is between $8 million and $10 million.
In late 2017, design firm Langan Engineering entered a 15-month process to create a plan for the sprawling park. The design calls for terraced seating with riverfront views, multi-use event space, a stage, a parking lot and several unstructured play areas.
“I am so excited that the William Penn Foundation has decided to fund this transformative parks project” said Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Commissioner, Kathryn Ott Lovell. “We look forward to continuing to make Philadelphia one of the greatest park systems in the entire United States.”