Port Richmond Industrial Development Enterprise + The Richmond Corridor Association

The Port Richmond Industrial Development Enterprise (PRIDE) Industrial Park is part of an active, mixed-use area of Philadelphia where houses, shops, schools, churches and factories are in close proximity to each other. The Port Richmond section of the city of Philadelphia was, at the turn of the century, a thriving center of manufacturing and commerce. As manufacturing declined, many businesses failed or relocated.

Mark Keener AIA AICP worked with PRIDE and the Richmond Corridor Association (RCA) to address the challenges of supporting 21st century industries within the established 19th century framework. The overall objective of the PRIDE businesses was to attain the competitive level of operational efficiency, employee satisfaction, district security and support infrastructure found in any of the newest industrial parks in the region. The challenge was to accomplish this while sustaining the delicate neighborhood fabric of Port Richmond. To realize this remarkable plan, substantial obstacles had to be overcome:

Lack of identity and orientation
Poor accommodation of trucks, trucking and employee parking
Deterioration and unattractive appearance of sidewalks, fences, vacant lots and vacant buildings
A nighttime environment that does not provide a sense of security and that does not reinforce the perception of the PRIDE area as a distinctive district, supporting a 24 hour-a-day workforce.

Identity and Orientation

A unified sign system (trailblazer directional markers, I-95 directional signs, district arrival signs, district street identification, parking lot identification, and loading zone identification) will mark the connections with the PRIDE Industrial Park to the regional highway network so that the district and its business can efficiently locate the district and its businesses.

Appearance

Presently, the district is characterized by chain link fences, razor wire, broken sidewalks, and older buildings that appear to be largely unoccupied. Landscape design standards were developed for fences, lighting, street furnishings, and plantings. The district design standards were selected to convey to the visitor that PRIDE businesses appreciate good workmanship and products that are elegantly engineered.

Trucks and Cars

A preferred truck access route was mapped, distributed to drivers, and is to be well signed, and regulated. An essential part of this plan was devoted to identifying the physical accommodations for truck movement that should be implemented to reduce or eliminate obstructions and conflicts. A serious current deficit in employee and visitor parking will require the creation of central employee parking lots and to remove sidewalks on one side of some streets to create additional parking lanes adjacent to larger employers.

Nighttime Environment

A central challenge to this effort is the fact that the eight-block area of the PRIDE Industrial Park is largely dormant at night and on weekends and is a convenient venue for various illegal activities. Nighttime security patrols have reduced criminal activity somewhat. The planned lighting will further transform the nighttime environment so that it is less likely people will engage in behaviors that they do not want others to see and so visitors and employees in the area will feel comfortable after dark. The lighting plan includes new, pedes- trian-scale lighting throughout the district, lighting some building facades and business identity signage, and lighting entrance and loading areas.

Project Team

Mark Keener AIA AICP, Robert Brown FAIA | with: The Lighting Practice, Lager Raabe Landscape Architects, Cloud + Gehshan, The Atlantic Group, Becker and Frondorf

As of 2011, there were over 7,000 industrial jobs in the River Wards, representing almost 40 percent of employment within the district. Industrial operations have historically been attracted to the district’s waterfront, rail and highway access, and utilities. Major employers include Honeywell, Tioga Marine Terminal, PTR Baler, Castor Metals, and Port Richmond Tool and Die. Despite such strengths, the district lost over 1,300 industrial jobs between 2002 and 2011, while experiencing a corresponding decline in economic opportunities for households. Parts of the communities of Kensington, Port Richmond, and Bridesburg suffer from unemployment rates close to 20 percent. In total, 244 acres of land—representing 14 percent of industrially zoned parcels—are no longer used for industry. Over the past few decades, traditional industrial clusters have experienced encroachment by nonindustrial uses such as large format retail. This has threatened the viability of these clusters and necessitates a shift in policy and actions to help protect these industrial areas. In recent years, public and private groups such as the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), Port Richmond Industrial Development Enterprise (PRIDE), and Richmond Corridor Association (RCA) have issued studies that reaffirm the value and strength of these clusters, while advocating for their protection.

Shipment arrives: 11:35 AM. It will take the driver 5 tries to get his shipment to the loading area. | Third attempt: 11:48 AM | Fourth attempt: 11:55 AM | Fifth attempt: 12:07 PM - Success!

From the city-wide 2035 Comprehensive Plan: Industrial clusters have unique service needs. Rigid daytime business hours lead to vandalism, theft, and illegal dumping. A group of businesses in two clusters have decided to take such challenges on collectively. The Port Richmond Industrial Development Enterprise (PRIDE) and Richmond Corridor Association (RCA) facilitate street maintenance, create unified signage, provide public safety, and cleaning services. Industrial clusters are also engaged in planning efforts. PRIDE completed the Plan for the PRIDE Industrial Park in 1999 and was the first Special Services District dedicated to an industrial area. PRIDE recently completed a comprehensive green stormwater management study to address stormwater runoff from private property in its service area. RCA, a voluntary association, produced its Five Year Strategic Plan 2012-2017 in 2011, addressing a wide variety of topics affecting its members, including business retention and growth, public realm improvements, and environmental stewardship.

Loading Operations: The buildings in the PRIDE area, built mostly between 1895 and 1930 have loading areas designed for railcars, horse carts and Charlie Chaplin era trucks, less than 30 feet long. Today’s 55 foot long tractor trailers cannot be efficiently accommodated. For a time, when there were fewer cars on the road and labor was cheaper, businesses could get by using public streets for loading operations. This activity now blocks busy Ontario and Westmoreland streets every day, several times a day for 15 to 40 minutes at a time causing frustration and delay for neighbors and visitors as well as business in the area. Loading and unloading in the street requires more workers than it does at a well designed, truck-accessible, loading dock. It also exposes the workers involved in loading operations to additional risk of injury.

11:35am

11:48

11:55

12:07pm

To provide adequate access: 1- Replace existing fence and gate. Expand curb cut. Demolish and replace sidewalk. Patch drive way. 2- Relocate subsurface, pit mounted, water meter. 3- Back-in deliveries can be accomplished only by pulling the cab over the curb on the opposite side of the street. Curb cuts and street striping, bollards and signing must be undertaken to effectuate this operation efficiently. 4- Storm water inlets must be relocated. 5- Move wooden power pole that obstructs access to the loading area.