Plans shaping up for a new Chester waterfront
CHESTER >> The Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County, in partnership with city government and Philadelphia Union parent company Keystone Sports and Entertainment, LLC, announced Thursday the hiring of Boston-based architecture firm NBBJ for its waterfront master plan contract. The alliance’s selection comes after issuing a request for proposal in early spring seeking a development plan for the area surrounding Talen Energy Stadium and the Wharf at Rivertown office complex.
“This signing of NBBJ is huge. It is going to be a significant and foundational step for the waterfront to have this plan,” said Tom Shoemaker, alliance board president. “Anyone who is looking to invest in that area is going … to see what the overall plan is for the waterfront. The city and community can say ‘yes, this is want we want.’”
The RFP was issued to 23 architectural firms, seeking their interest in formulating a “Chester Waterfront Master Plan” for the area bounded by Route 291 and the Delaware River and Highland Avenue and Norris Street. NBBJ was selected from 10 responses.
According to Shoemaker and alliance Deputy Director Lisa Gaffney, the firm has experience in both riverfront and stadium-area development in cities comparable in size to Chester along with larger markets including Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C. The firm, which has offices in three countries, has performed work on the design of Lincoln Financial Field and master plans for Pittsburgh’s riverfront revitalization and the Dallas Arts District.
The master plan is scheduled to be completed in June, according to Gaffney. “We’re starting community focus groups in November, when (the consultants) come for their next visit,” she said. “November and December will be a key time for meeting with the community, nonprofits, business, government and religious organizations.”
The alliance anticipates two to four months for the meetings to take place. Open meetings with the public are planned but dates have not been finalized.
“The Union, Riverfront Alliance and City of Chester have found a great partner in NBBJ, with their vast background and progressive approach to community planning,” Tim McDermott, Philadelphia Union chief business officer, said in a statement. “This is a new and exciting chapter for the residents of Chester, the growth of our home on the Delaware riverfront and the continued success for the city. This is a chapter that has been in the making since the stadium was built in 2010 and now has the right partners at the right time to come to fruition.”
The Union, which took up residence on the Chester waterfront in 2010, have redeveloped the annex building and what used to be parking lots into the Power Training Complex, both exclusively for team use. They’ve also spearheaded the rejuvenation of the Wharf Building, which houses Power Home Remodeling Group among other businesses, and have expanded their partnership with the Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County. The alliance and the City of Chester were part of Thursday’s announcement.
Developing a larger campus that is viable not just on the Union’s 17 regular-season game days has long been a stated goal of the franchise, even if execution of the plan has hit many speedbumps. The Union own a mile of waterfront between Highland Avenue and Norris Street, and contracting NBBJ will help them utilize the space.
“We intend to work with the Riverfront Alliance and the City of Chester to build stronger physical, social, and economic connections between the city and its waterfront, creating the framework for a legacy project for the community and its stakeholders,” NBBJ Principal Alan Mountjoy said in a statement. “Working with the Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County – with its 23 years of leadership and progress – is itself one of the most exciting aspects of the Chester Waterfront master planning process. Our end goal is a vibrant waterfront that is welcoming to residents, supports local businesses, and enhances Chester as a unique, regional destination.”
The alliance, made up of private-businesses and public-sector groups, is continuing work on projects in the riverfront area while the plan is under development. “We’re working with the East Coast Greenway group to build out the trail in that area; there’s parts of it that are not connected,” said Shoemaker. The alliance, certified as a waterfront development organization by state government, has applied for a waterfront tax credit for paving and sidewalk installation on the unit block of Engle Street, now home to The Larimer Beer Co. “The brewery was a great addition to the waterfront. They’ve been doing a great business down there,” Shoemaker said.
Funding for the master plan is being provided in part by the Philadelphia Union, M&T Charitable Foundation, the Chester Economic Development Authority and the Chester Redevelopment Authority. In late August, Chester City Council approved $120,000 in funding for the project from a $182,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, awarded in the spring to help with initiatives pushing the city out of financially distressed status under Act 47. The city’s Act 47 consultants and the state have identified waterfront development as key to the city’s economic revitalization in the city’s exit plan.
Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland said in a statement that “NBBJ has a strong focus on involving the community in the planning process and making urban waterfronts vibrant resources for surrounding residents. We are excited about partnering with (the alliance) and the Philadelphia Union in planning for the future of our waterfront.”
State Sen. Tom Killion, R-9 of Middletown, who assisted in getting the spring state grant, emphasized the importance of state-level involvement in the planning and development of the waterfront. “Promoting economic development and revitalization in Chester has been one of my top priorities,” he said in a statement. “With so many committed partners, I’m sure the redevelopment of Chester’s waterfront will be a success story of the state’s Act 47 program, and I’m pleased to have helped secure part of the funds required for this initiative.”
According to Gaffney, NBBJ will be partnership with the Philadelphia office of Langan engineering consultants, with a background in transportation issues, trails and public space access; and the Chicago-based Hunden Strategic Advisors, an economic development consulting practice. “They do a lot of market and financial feasibility studies,” Gaffney said. “We want to make sure there’s a market … that (the master plan) is economically-based and has input from various sectors in the city.”