The redevelopment of Penn’s Landing is a long-term project that will involve significant community engagement over many years. This will build on the robust engagement that DRWC has already undertaken for this site.
Penn’s Landing has been a major destination on the Waterfront since its creation in the 1970s, hosting large events, concerts, festivals, and fireworks. The Master Plan for the Central Delaware called for those large-scale civic functions to remain, while also envisioning improvements to the overall site that would enhance accessibility and year-round use. It also proposed substantial new residential and retail development that would frame the public spaces and create better connections to the neighborhoods surrounding Penn’s Landing.
A few years after the Master Plan was finalized, DRWC undertook a closer examination of Penn’s Landing to test the concepts that the Master Plan had introduced for the site. That study, known as the Penn’s Landing Feasibility Study, recommended the design and engineering of a new park over Interstate 95 and Columbus Boulevard and confirmed that it could be built to provide a more seamless physical and visual connection between the Old City neighborhood and the Delaware River. Additionally, the Feasibility Study developed a cost estimate for the public improvements, fleshed out the development potential of the Marina Basin and the Market Street sites, and produced an Economic Impact Report which demonstrated that the investment into the new public realm infrastructure and associated private development could yield a return of $1.6 billion to the City of Philadelphia, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the School District of Philadelphia.
Based on this study, the City, Commonwealth, and several philanthropic organizations committed to an investment of $225 million into the creation of the New Park at Penn’s Landing, and began a preliminary engineering and design process led by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). With preliminary design of the park completed in 2019, DRWC undertook a robust selection process for a private development partner for the parcels that would abut the new park.
In October 2019, DRWC released an RFP for the Penn’s Landing Development Opportunity. In response, the organization received four proposals in February 2020 and its Board of Directors spent the following eight months carefully reviewing each. In September, the Board voted unanimously to select The Durst Organization as the developer for Penn’s Landing. More information on this selection and the process can be reviewed in the official press release.
