March 27, 2024
Provided Image/DRWC
The proposed logo for Penn's Landing Park depicts a planted tree over a river current, which the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation says is a symbol for joining the city and its people, nature and the river.
Construction is underway on the 11 1/2-acre Penn's Landing Park that will stretch across I-95 and Columbus Boulevard in the years to come, transforming the public space along the Delaware River waterfront.
PennDOT's recent closures and lane restrictions on I-95 are supporting work on the cap that will serve as the foundation for the $328.9 million park project, which planners hope will be completed by 2029.
As distant as that may seem today, new details about the park continue to take shape and give a better visual sense of what it will be like to spend time there.
Earlier this month, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC), which is leading the project with PennDOT, submitted renderings of its proposed signage and logo to the Philadelphia Art Commission. The logo depicts a planted tree sitting above a river current, with renderings showing how the logo could be incorporated into the park's wayfinding system. The proposal also names three fonts — GT Super, Monument Extended and Monument Grotesk — that will be used with italic accents on park signs and promotional materials.
A rendering shows how wayfinding signage will be incorporated into the space at Penn's Landing Park.
The rendering above shows a view of Penn's Landing Park from the northwest corner of Chestnut Street.
The Art Commission gave conceptual approval to the designs last fall and held a meeting this week to address changes DRWC has made since then. The proposal will go up before the commission for final approval on April 10.
Penn's Landing Park will span north to south from Chestnut to Walnut streets. Amenities will include an ice rink, public gardens, memorials, children's play area, amphitheater, food trucks, cafe and a mass-timber pavilion. There also will be a number of flexible open spaces for performances, festivals, fairs and other events.
Project designer KieranTimberlake and architect Hargreaves Jones previously released a number of renderings of the park, whose grounds will have several elevation changes.
An aerial rendering shows plans for the 11 1/2-acre Penn's Landing Park.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Commons will be at the southeast corner of the park.
A mass-timber building at the center of the park will house a café, a pavilion, public bathrooms, rental spaces and a ticketing area.
Another facet of the project will be a two-mile extension to the Delaware River Trail from Spring Garden Street to Washington Avenue, with an extension of the South Street Bridge to connect pedestrians and cyclists with the waterfront. The bridge extension could be completed as soon as 2025, PennDOT officials said.
In the years ahead, construction will require overnight road closures and lane shifts on I-95 and adjacent highway ramps. Detours and travel restrictions also will affect surface streets including Columbus Boulevard and Front Street at various construction phases.
Once the park is completed, PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration will be responsible for its infrastructure. DRWC will manage programming and site management, but the city will maintain ownership of the land. The park is expected to generate $1.6 billion in revenue for the city, School District of Philadelphia and the state, according to DRWC projections.
The new park will be a complementary but separate piece from the $2.2 billion redevelopment of land just north of Penn's Landing. That project, led by New York-based developer the Durst Organization, includes 12 new buildings on two waterfront sites with a mix of apartments, retail space, a hotel and other new public spaces.
