Philadelphia Market East Strategic Plan July 2009
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Philadelphia Market East STRATEGIC PLAN July 2009 Philadelphia City Planning Commission PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF PHILADELPHIA MARKET STREET EAST STRATEGIC PLAN Market East Planning Area PHILADELPHIA MARKET STREET EAST STRATEGIC PLAN 1 INTRODUCTION The Market East District is one of the most vital Market East cannot fully thrive without a and important areas in Center City Philadelphia. healthy Market Street. But for this to happen, all Its assets include not only neighborhoods like of Market East’s constituents need to be present Chinatown and Washington Square West, but on, and fully engage Market Street. an outstanding transit infrastructure, excellent highway access, a rich history, retail destina- The vision is based on key strategies for restoring tion and attractions like the Independence Mall Market Street’s role as Philadelphia’s Main and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. But Street: Market East has yet to perform up to its poten- • focusing on places instead of projects by tial and leverage the tremendous public invest- improving Market Street’s pedestrian ments that sit within its boundaries. environment; • bringing everyone onto Market Street; This plan for Market East creates a vision that is • achieving maximum density; integral with strategy. One that is not dominated • promoting a mix of uses; by one use or project, but is characterized by the • creating a new expanded intermodal diversity of forms and activities that have marked transit center Market Street’s colorful and proud three-hun- dred year history. It seeks to position the Market It also proposes strategies to allow the rest of the East District to play a part in a more sustainable district to take maximum advantage of existing future for the City by improving street-level air and future public investments: quality, promoting transit ridership and lever- • establishing Tenth Street as a new Market Street Mall Elevation aging the city’s existing investment in one of the neighborhood Main Street, central richest transit hubs to be found in an American to Chinatown and Thomas Jefferson City. University (Jefferson); • creating opportunities for Chinatown and The vision and strategy for Market East are Jefferson to expand both centered on Market Street. It is the key to • establishing a new hotel district as well as unlocking the value of the rest of Market East. a new loft district; and Like San Francisco’s Market Street or Michigan • expanding the boundaries of Market East Avenue in Chicago, Market Street has always by making new connections across the been the “Main Street” of Philadelphia. As in Vine Expressway and to the Delaware those cities, the dynamic between the district River Waterfront. Everyone is off Market Street and its most important street is symbiotic: Philadelphia City Planning Commission 2 PHILADELPHIA MARKET STREET EAST STRATEGIC PLAN ReSTORING MARKET STReeT’S ROLE AS PHILADELPHIA’s “MAIN STReeT” RE-ROUTING BUS TRAFFIC As San Francisco and Chicago have shown, there Street over to Filbert Street. This move, which are certain qualities and basic elements that are would involve converting several blocks of Arch necessary for big city main streets to succeed: a Street and Filbert Street to two-way traffic would comfortable and managed public realm, a mix of eliminate over two-thirds of the westbound bus uses, higher densities and last, but not least, an traffic during Market East’s peak hours, while inclusive environment welcoming to all segments preserving the basic function of NJ Transit’s A “wall“ of buses of the city. For Market Street to be restored to its Center City loop. Throughout its history, role as Philadelphia’s Main Street, these qualities transport and commerce have jockeyed for all clearly need to be present. But Market Street dominance on Market Street. Getting the right needs to be more. Our vision seeks to capture balance between the two is central to restoring the boldness and diversity Philadelphia’s “main Market Street as Philadelphia’s Main Street. street” demands. Market Street’s sidewalk environment is not in itself unattractive. Indeed, its streetscape elements are every bit as appealing as those of its counterparts in other cities. Perhaps the biggest Market Street , San Francisco challenge to creating a comfortable environ- ment on Market Street, however, is taming the tremendous number of buses that line its curbs in the morning and evening rush hours. These buses not only produce toxic fumes, they also block sight lines between one side of the street and the other, and slow traffic to a crawl. The Plan proposes alleviating much of this bus traffic by rerouting the twelve NJ Transit commuter bus lines that presently run on Market New route for NJ Transit Commuter Bus Lines - off Market Street Michigan Avenue, Chicago PHILADELPHIA MARKET STREET EAST STRATEGIC PLAN 3 Market Street, Philadelphia Market Street at night, Philadelphia Market Street from 6th Street, Philadelphia, ca. early 1900s MARKET STREET EAST Philadelphia City Planning Commission 4 PHILADELPHIA MARKET STREET EAST STRATEGIC PLAN BRINGING EVERYONE TO MARKET STReeT Putting the Market back ON Market Street Market Street has been centered on commerce The Plan proposes restoring the Market’s pres- A B C since the colonial era when merchants and ence on Market Street by expanding it into the farmers set up shops and stalls at the foot of what Reading Terminal Headhouse. The Headhouse was then called “High Street”. This continued is underutilized and its grand character and through the 19th century when “Shambles” tall ceiling heights suggest an ideal setting for a market stalls occupied the middle of the street, unique public use like a market. Existing leases and into the first half of the twentieth century as also provide a window of opportunity to re-envi- grand department stores like Wanamakers, Lit sion how the Headhouse is programmed. Brothers and Strawbridges made Market East the Reading Terminal Market destination for the city’s middle class. A B C Market Street today does, to be sure, have its share of retail activity. But it does not benefit from the unique destinations that Center City’s Reading Terminal “main street” demands. The irony is that while Market A B C the district can boast of retail destinations like the Reading Terminal Market, the Gallery, and Chinatown, none of them have a meaningful Reading Terminal Headhouse presence on Market Street. Link to Concourse A B C Reading TerminaL A B C Reading Terminal Market is oneA of the most Headhouse B C vibrant public markets in the U.S. and attracts millions of visitors a year. Its mix of visitors and locals gives it a rare authenticity. With Convention Center traffic expected to double after the expansion, Reading Terminal Market is Plan showing the Reading Terminal Headhouse and Market poised for growth. Link to Concourse PHILADELPHIA MARKET STREET EAST STRATEGIC PLAN 5 An expanded space for the Reading Terminal Market will not only allow the market to tie into social and food industry trends, like the locally-grown and organic food movements, but will also provide opportunities to meet the anticipated demand for more unique high-end dining after the Convention Center Expansion opens. The underground Concourse, presently a vast and oversized space, presents another prime A B Culinary Center & Studios C opportunity for food-oriented programming, A A New Market Hall B NewB Market Hall C even Cperhaps showcasing flavors of Philadelphia’s Link Concourse proud and diverse food culture. Market Street Last, but not least, while the Convention Center’s address on Market Street is maintained, the revitalized Headhouse will provide a clear A A A B B B C C C front door entrance to the existing Market East transit hub. The strategy is not only to provide improved signage to direct passengers to the Transit Hub and restore the historic Headhouse’s bold outsized canopy, but to make the entrance to the Transit Hub part of a larger vision, inte- Ferry Terminal, San Francisco Reading Market A New Culinary Institute grated into a major new downtown food destina- The Reading Terminal Headhouse is un- The underground Concourse, presently A major new downtown food destination and tion and culinary institute to give it a presence derutilized and its grand character and tall a vast and oversized space, presents an- culinary institute to give the Headhouse a pres- ceiling heights suggest an ideal setting for other prime opportunity for food-oriented ence commensurate with its importance to the commensurate with its importance to the district a unique public use like a market programming, even perhaps showcasing district and the region. and the region. flavors of Philadelphia’s proud and diverse food culture Philadelphia City Planning Commission 6 PHILADELPHIA MARKET STREET EAST STRATEGIC PLAN BRINGING EVERYONE TO MARKET STReeT The GALLerY, at market east The Gallery is one of Market East’s unique destinations, with a thriving food concourse, multi-level spaces flooded with sunlight, and major national retailers. But its upper levels have struggled and the Gallery’s inward focus and block-long monolithic façade have been cited as impediments to more significant investment in this stretch of Market Street. The possibilities for the Gallery are many, but Concept Elevation of Gallery 2 the basic principles are simple: active street Market Street Elevation New Office level storefronts, pedestrian sense of scale, and a Creating a Midblock entrance on diverse and vertically divided façade. Market Street and bringing its skylit Development galleria onto the street will give the Gallery 2 a prime Market Street Creating a midblock entrance on Market Street address much like its namesake in Milan. It will also provide the two and bringing its sky lit galleria onto the street sides flanking it with discrete design will give the Gallery 2 a prime Market Street opportunities.