January 08, 2024
Provided Image/Navy Yard
The stretch of Broad Street between Crescent Drive and Intrepid Avenue in the Navy Yard reopened Monday. It had been closed for 18 months so workers could restore the underlying structure.
The section of South Broad Street that serves as the Navy Yard's main thoroughfare reopened to traffic Monday morning after 18 months of construction.
There are now four lanes open between Crescent Drive and Intrepid Avenue. This 734-stretch, known as the "quay wall," had sat on top of a 120-year-old timber bridge structure that was deteriorating and mostly submerged into the waterway it borders. The two lanes and sidewalks adjacent to the water's edge had been closed for years due to safety reasons before officials shut down all four lanes in July 2022.
This stretch of South Broad Street, located below the sports complex and I-95, is the primary entry point for the 15,000 people who work in the Navy Yard complex. In the coming months, a two-way bike lane, landscaping and a pedestrian plaza that overlooks the water will be added.
The $22 million project began in July 2022 as a joint venture between PennDOT, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the city and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. It's part of $6 billion plan to add 8.9 million square feet of residential, retail, science and multi-use development to the Navy Yard. This is the third development plan from PIDC since it acquired the property in 2000.
The plan calls for Ensemble/Mosaic – a joint venture between a national real estate company and a Philadelphia developer – to build 3,900 apartment units and add 235,000 square feet of retail space. In October, it broke ground on a $235 mixed-used development with 614 residential units, which is set to open in 2025. It will be the first residential complex at the Navy Yard since it closed as a Naval base in 1996.
