Mark Keener aia aicp pp
Town Planner
Route 15 picks up Girard
Girard Avenue’s story began when the wealthiest man in America decided to make a new street. According to Stephen Girard’s 1830 vision, the street would evolve as a gracious avenue, lined by the mansions of the city’s emerging entrepreneurial class; an enclave for the newly affluent. His estate pressed forward with the idea, however, Philadelphia’s 19th century transformation as a center of industry and the expanding need for skilled labor established a competing vision that soon prevailed. As the population surged, Girard Avenue became an important transportation corridor and center for purchase of household goods. It became the city’s “second Market Street,” with 4 covered markets running along its center over as many as fourteen of the blocks between Fishtown and Broad Street. By 1900, the Avenue was already a bustling and noisy center of city life, characterized by its contrasts—in levels of prosperity, in its mix of activities and uses, and in the varied kinds of spaces it creates as it moves across Philadelphia. Then, as now, the Avenue was one of those “important streets” that defines a city.
The City of Philadelphia and non-profit partners organized Avenue business and neighborhood groups to engage a team of experts led by Mark Keener AIA AICP. The multi-year assignment investigates these changes and develop a plan that to benefit both current and new members of the community. The plan, developed over two years with extensive public input, is designed to attract, inform and coordinate public and private investment. It tackles five key issues: economic and community development, streetscapes, circulation, design and public art.
Mainstreet to 11 Neighborhoods
One purpose of the endeavor is to animate private investment and entrepreneurship; to create an environment where market forces will repurposes vacant property. The same market forces, which are making properties on Girard Avenue viable, are also creating pressure on the long-term, elderly, and lower-income residents who live in neighborhoods around Girard from Fishtown to Brewerytown. The purpose of these efforts is to create a framework for all of the organizations and residents that have an interest in the revitalization of Girard Avenue. Success should trigger a parallel set of actions to temper economic displacement: homeowners with unaffordable property taxes | renters facing displacement due to rising costs. | small businesses that face displacement when taxes and rents rise or revenue drops as client base changes. Following the completion of the plan, a number of service organizations and city agencies have been working to create/retain affordable housing, to counsel renters about home purchases, and to support residents having a hard time maintaining their homes.
Project Team
Mark Keener AIA AICP: Project Leader, Principal Author | Team: R Brown, T Bressi, D Robbins, S Sanseverino | With: KSK, Orth Rodgers Associates, Cloud Gehshan, Urban Partners, Justice and Sustainablity Associates | LISC project director: Paul Marcus
Senior Freeze program: for low-income homeowners over 65
Longtime Owner Occupant Program (LOOP) relief for households with 300% jump in tax assessments.
Owner-occupied Payment Agreement (OOPA) assists owners who face to tax foreclosure
Expand supply of affordable units and preserve existing affordable homes,
Eviction prevention /access to legal services and financial counseling
Developers set aside affordable units for rent or sale on-site of their development or pay into Housing Trust Fund
Revolving loan fund to help small businesses and (CDCs) purchase property in commercial corridors
New policies to help renters and small businesses. PolicyLink’s Anti-Displacement Network
Insights
INSIGHTS FOR GIRARD AVENUE illustrates detailed recommendations responsive to each of the community objectives. Specific design proposals resulted from a collaboration between the Project Design Team and residents, business owners, and local leadership during a series of nine public workshop sessions over the course of a year. The resulting document, to be used by City agencies, developers, and neighborhood groups, is designed to support funding applications as well as to provide a coordinated approach to city allocations for capital improvements and to target private investment. In addition, images, data, maps, and drawings have been assembled that can be used for future marketing efforts, funding requests, and to assist the Corridor with its ongoing active participation with community residents working for the Corridor’s residential and commercial revitalization. Designers, property owners, artists, engineers, and investors can review specific sections of this document to learn more about the following elements of Girard Avenue:
Market demand
Desired development scenarios
Traffic calming concepts and parking solutions
Streetscape design that supports both desired development and existing retailers
Public art projects by artists creating collaboratively with property owners, and residents
Building facade improvement initiatives gauged to leverage existing funding as well as to encourage good decisions about design and development
Actions and funding targets along with priority next-steps for the Girard Coalition and its partners
In the years since the completion of Girard Avenue Insights:
There has been a remarkable level of redevelopment, attended by reduction in vacancy, increase in economic activity and new businesses.
Desired development scenarios, anticipated in by the plan have been realized
Corridor streetscape, lighting, landscape, branding, and traffic calming continues to evolve
Public art projects have been (and continue to be) created collaboratively with property owners, and residents
Multiple building facade have been completed. Some leveraging funding, and many that demonstrate the values and design guidance offered by the plan
Girard Ave. Trolley
The Route 15 is one of SEPTA’s most unique routes, using historic streetcars to carry passengers. The vehicles that currently operate on Route 15 are old Presidents’ Conference Committee streetcars that operated during the World War II era. After years of planning and preparation by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and SEPTA, these heritage streetcars were returned to service in Philadelphia on September 4, 2005. While SEPTA has eight other trolley routes, but the Route 15 is the only that uses heritage streetcars.
