The new park will turn a vacant, one-acre pier just south of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge into a vibrant public space with trees, a promenade, a lawn, and a terrace — all with spectacular river views. (Images courtesy Delaware River Waterfront Corporation)
Construction has begun on a brand new park that is coming soon to the Race Street Pier along the Delaware River Waterfront.
The striking new park, called Race Street Pier, is being built on the vacant Pier 11, which is located at the base of Race Street just south of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.
The new Race Street Pier will become one of the first public spaces to be designed and built by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and is an Early Action project that’s part of the ambitious Civic Vision for the Central Delaware Riverfront. It will be one of several open space improvements planned for every half mile along the central Delaware as part of the new Master Plan.
The project is scheduled for completion and a grand opening to the public in late spring of 2011 and is intended to serve as an early example of high-quality open space along the Central Delaware River Waterfront.
The Design
The park’s new design comes from James Corner Field Operations, the internationally recognized landscape architecture and urban design firm responsible for the design of the widely acclaimed and award-winning High Line Park in New York City.
The physical design of the new Race Street Pier will be split into two levels — an upper level with a grand sky promenade and a lower level for gathering and passive recreation. A dramatic ramp will rise along the north face alongside the bridge, dramatizing the sense of arriving in the space of the river. A lower terrace will support a multi-purpose lawn and generous seating terrace with spectacular river views.
The new park will also feature 37 mature, 8 inch caliper, nearly fully grown trees which will provide instant dramatic impact upon opening.
A rendering of the park seen from above, along the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. (Image courtesy Delaware River Waterfront Corporation)
We’ve got a lot more information below, including a few more renderings, quotes from the Mayor, and a video from the groundbreaking.
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