September 24, 2024
Michaela Althouse/PhillyVoice
Graffiti Pier will be sold to the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation by the end of the year, Conrail officials said at a community meeting Monday night.
Conrail intends to sell Graffiti Pier and the six acres that surround it to the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation by the end of the year, railroad officials said at a community meeting Monday night.
The decision comes after a 10- to 20-foot section of the pier collapsed into the water on July 31. On Monday, Conrail officials told residents of the nearby Northbank Development that it will move forward with plans to sell the space so it can be transformed into a public park and safe space for artists, FOX29 reported.
The pier has long served as an unofficial park and a hotspot for graffiti artists.
The plan to sell it to the DRWC became public in 2019, though little progress has been made in the time since. In 2023, the federal government offered $2 million to support early construction costs for the project, but it was still stuck in the planning stage. Plans for the structure include shoreline improvements, pathway and lighting upgrades, and more canvasses for graffiti artists.
"It's a major multi-million dollar transaction in land, and we can't start selling property without the approval of our board," Daniel Dwyer, general counsel for Conrail, told FOX29.
Dwyer said he expects the board to approve that sale at a Nov. 14 meeting, and the sale to be finalized by the end of the year. Conrail and the DRWC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fencing (above) was installed at the entrance to Graffiti Pier after it partially collapsed in July.
Following the collapse, Conrail installed metal fencing around the pier to keep people off the property. However, the railroad said it has done little to dissuade visitors. Though Graffiti Pier is a privately-owned space and visiting it is considered trespassing, it's typically not been enforced even after the collapse.
Selling to the DWRC would be the first step toward a more accessible future for the pier.
"We want to be able to have a public park that's safe and secure and a space that does provide artistic freedom," state Rep. Joe Hohenstein (D-Philadelphia) told FOX29. "A safe park hang everyone gets to use — that space that is activated — is the safest space, and that's really the key."
