Project Details
- Project Name
- Philadelphia 30th Street Station District Plan
- Location
- PA
- Architect
- SOM
- Client/Owner
- The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
- Project Types
- Planning
- Size
- 18,000,000 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2016
- Shared by
- Hanley Wood
- Project Status
- On the Boards/In Progress
2017 AIA Institute Honor Award Winner in Regional & Urban Design
“The only station stop in Philadelphia,” as Amtrak conductors have declared it for eons, 30th Street Station is the central node in a neighborhood that has long seemed on the cusp of some kind of breakthrough. With 11 million riders passing through every day (a figure that could pass 20 million over the next two decades), the grand Neoclassical edifice is a stone’s throw from the University of Pennsylvania campus and backs directly onto the Schuylkill River, which separates the station from downtown.
The problem, as with so many of America’s aging transit hubs, is an 88-acre rail yard directly to the north, currently a gaping hole in the urban fabric that the designers and logisticians at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) are poised to turn into an economic bonanza: In conjunction with a dizzying array of commercial and institutional stakeholders, the firm has concocted a plan to build a mixed-use district of 18 million square feet directly on top of the rail yards. The plan also calls for a new public plaza to be constructed on the west side of the station, binding it visually and programmatically with the surrounding district.
Signaling their focus on public space, the plaza is of a piece with SOM’s overall vision of a new Philly nabe with the right sense of openness at a human scale, yet enough density to ensure that both the city and private developers will realize a return on what is bound to be a very steep investment. Both daring and pragmatic, the Philadelphia 30th Street Station District Plan strikes just the right balance
Project Credits
Project: Philadelphia 30th Street Station District Plan, Philadelphia
Client: Amtrak; Brandywine Realty Trust; Drexel University; PennDOT; SEPTA
Master Planning and Architecture: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill . Anthony Vacchione, AIA (managing partner); Roger Duffy, FAIA (design partner); William F. Baker, (structural engineering partner); Charles Besjak, FAIA (structural director); Kristopher Takács, AIA (project manager); Olin McKenzie, AIA (senior design architect); Daniel O’Shaughnessy (senior urban designer); Derek Moore, AIA, Jennifer Pehr (senior planners); Alexandra Thewis (structural engineer); Angel Rodriguez-Colon, Jenny Joe, AIA (urban designers); Peter Glasson, AIA (architect); Drew Cowdrey, Andy Rah (architectural designers)
Transportation Consultant: WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff
Economics/Commercial Opportunities: HR&A Advisors
Historic Preservation: Building Conservation Associates
Railroad Engineering: Burns Engineering
Parking Analysis: CHANCE Management Advisors
Public Engagement: Envision Consultants
Retail Strategy: Williams Jackson Ewing
Film: Thirst
Cost Estimation: Faithful+Gould
Surveying: GTS Consultants
Traffic Analysis: KMJ Consulting
Size: 18 million square feet
Cost: $10 billion in public and private investment (total plan)
To see the rest of ARCHITECT's coverage of the 2017 AIA Institute Honor Awards, click here.
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Completed in June 2016, the Philadelphia 30th Street Station District Plan is a long-range, joint master planning effort led by Amtrak, Brandywine Realty Trust, Drexel University, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (“Principals”) to develop a comprehensive vision for the future of the 30th Street Station District in the year 2050 and beyond. A Coordinating Committee of institutional partners has also guided the planning effort. In addition to the Principals, its members include the City of Philadelphia, CSX Corporation, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, New Jersey Transit, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, Schuylkill River Development Corporation, University City District, and the University of Pennsylvania. The vision harmonizes ideas from this group together with a diverse and highly-engaged set of stakeholders, including elected officials, community organizations, business, trade and advocacy groups, anchor institutions and major employers, transportation passengers, citizens of the District, and the general public.
Philadelphia is undergoing a new era of growth and opportunity, and the district around 30th Street Station is at the forefront of this renaissance:
· Busy and Growing Intermodal Transit Hub: The station welcomed 11 million passengers in 2015 and is expected to double its ridership by 2040.
· Critical Link on the Northeast Corridor: The station sits at the nexus of the country’s most important intercity rail corridor.
· Growing Philadelphia: The City reversed its decades-long population decline in 2010, and has grown each year since.
· One of the City’s Largest Land Assemblages: The 88-acre rail yards and 12 acres at grade offer unprecedented redevelopment opportunity.
· Diverse and Growing Job and Residential Markets: A prime location between Center City and University City gives access to 375,000 workers.
· Alignment of Key Stakeholders to Deliver District Change: For the first time ever, all land owners and major stakeholders in the District are planning for a shared, cooperative future.
