Northern Liberties Kicks Off The Planning Process For A New Streetscape Vision Plan

Northern Liberties Business Improvement District (NLBID) announces the development of the Northern Liberties Streetscape Vision Plan. The young business district enters its third full year of operation preparing for a major growth in residential and commercial business. The population in the popular Philadelphia neighborhood is expected to nearly double in two short years, with 4,600 new residential units and 184,655 square feet of commercial on deck or under construction. NLBID has selected award-winning architecture firm KieranTimberlake, whose own office is located in the heart of Northern Liberties, to partner with Philadelphia-based PORT Urbanism to re-envision the 2nd Street commercial corridor and set a path for the next ten years of growth. The public-realm focused plan will consider pedestrian, bike, and vehicular circulation, as well as furnishing, greening, lighting, signage, and other considerations including potential new spaces of community collection. Funding for the planning process is supported by a grant from the Penn Treaty Special Services District.

“There has never been a more exciting time to live, work, play and do business in Northern Liberties,” said NLBID Executive Director Kris Kennedy. “We have seen tremendous growth in both businesses and in our population. Major construction is happening from the border with Old City all the way through Girard. As we enter our third year in the neighborhood, it is the right time to look at what lies ahead for the next ten years. The creation of the Northern Liberties Streetscape Vision Plan picks right up where the 2004 Neighborhood Plan left off. It will reflect how the neighborhood has evolved and tap into the potential this district has with significant input from the community.”

Northern Liberties continues to be one of Philadelphia’s hottest and fastest growing neighborhoods. Currently, there are 4,600 new residential units and 184,655 square feet of commercial on deck or under construction. It is estimated that 5,000 to 10,000 new residents would move into the neighborhood in the next two years, essentially doubling the population in Northern Liberties (Callowhill to Girard, 6th St to the river). This includes:

5th and Spring Garden - 382 units, 6,000 sq ft commercial
Piazza Terminal - 861 units, 35,000 sq ft commercial
6th and Fairmount - 350 units, 18,000 sq ft commercial
418 Spring Garden - 330 units, TBD sq ft commercial
501 Columbus Blvd - 481 units, 37,000 sq ft commercial
310 Girard - 185 units, 6,400 sq ft commercial
342 Girard - 45 units, TBD sq ft commercial
700 N Delaware - 482 units, 10,000 sq ft commercial
918 N Delaware 452 units, 16,855 sq ft commercial
200 Spring Garden - 355 units, 18,000 sq ft commercial
412 N 2nd - 387 units, 20,400 sq ft commercial
417 Callowhill - 220 units, no commercial
814-26 N 2nd St - 52 units, 8,000 sq ft commercial
1102-48 N 2nd - 25 units, 9,000 sq ft

The above growth also will come to include the The Piazza/Liberties Walk, which will be replacing 500 units and 150,000 sq ft commercial over the next several years.

Despite the pandemic, new businesses and the city’s most acclaimed new restaurants have continued to open in Northern Liberties at a record pace. Recent openings have included Bagels and Co., Anejo, SET NoLibs, Ken Love's BYOB, Suya Suya, Pelicana, Stickman Brews, 7 Boys Collective, Studio N Med Spa, Pancho's Cafe, and soon-to-open Figo. Leases have also been signed and secured for at least five yet-to-be-announced new businesses moving into well-known restaurant and retail spaces.

As the neighborhood prepares for this continued and rapid growth, NLBID secured funding and began the vetting process to start the planning process to invest in the next ten years. The BID didn’t have to look far from home, as it selected a team with its roots in its own community.

“We interviewed five teams during the vetting process,” said Kennedy. “We wanted to find the right fit. We selected the KieranTimberlake/PORT team because of their reputation for bold design, deep understanding of the Delaware waterfront, and commitment to Northern Liberties. This is such a unique neighborhood, and we are delighted to work with a team being led by a firm based right here in Northern Liberties. Having a BID in the district enables us to fund this planning process and see it through to execution.The plan is in part funded by a grant from the Penn Treaty Special Services District. We are so thankful for their support.”

KieranTimberlake is recognized worldwide for transforming built and natural environments through artistry, integrity, innovation, and performance. The firm has a rich local legacy, shaping Philadelphia’s public spaces in ways that ensure exceptional social, ethical, and environmental outcomes. Its master plan for the city’s waterfront—including Penn’s Landing and Pier 53—established a vibrant, resilient, and community-oriented connection to the Delaware River. The firm’s redesign of Dilworth Park creates an accessible, aesthetic, and humane transit experience at the symbolic heart of the city. In addition, KieranTimberlake has enhanced the cityscape with its imaginative adaptations of historic landmarks, such as the Bulletin Building, the soon-to-be expanded Mütter Museum, and the former Ortlieb’s Bottling House, a 1948 landmark structure which the firm re-envisioned as its own 60,000 square-foot studio.

“KieranTimberlake has been a committed resident of Northern Liberties since 2015, when we converted the Ortlieb’s Bottling House into our studio space,” said KieranTimberlake Partner Matthew Krissel. “We are deeply invested in the neighborhood and its potential to be a transformative, positive force in the greater Philadelphia region. We are looking forward to teaming with the NLBID and other stakeholders to take this dynamic district into the future.”

Krissel added, “By listening to and working directly with the NLBID and local residents, we will compile a clear picture of their needs, ideas, and aspirations. This will form the basis of our vision plan, which will expand on the rich and creative history of Northern Liberties’ existing buildings, streets, and landscapes with new opportunities, creating a flexible framework for smart, sustainable, and sensitive community growth.”

For PORT, their work in the public realm is recognized for its creativity, collaborative process, and focus on the essential characteristics of a place as the foundation of envisioning any future transformation. The firm has led public realm vision plans for BIDs in rapidly changing neighborhoods in Chicago and Cleveland, in addition to urban public realm projects in Boston, Denver and Louisville. PORT is currently leading the design of a two-mile greenway and destination regional park space in Knoxville, TN and Bentonville, AR respectively that are innovative collaborations between municipal government and private philanthropy. In Philadelphia, PORT is leading the Frankford Avenue Connector project for DRWC and previously guided the Oval Plus program at Eakins Oval for the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.

“The public spaces of a neighborhood—in particular, the main commercial street—serve as the front door to a community,” said PORT principal Christopher Marcinkoski. “These are spaces as important to a resident’s daily activities as they are to the periodic outings of visitors. Making sure these public spaces are inviting, intuitive and interesting—building on the given assets and characteristics of the place—is essential to the health and vibrancy of a neighborhood. Provisions of generous greening, furnishing, lighting and wayfinding are convivial invitations to experience and participate in the public life of a neighborhood.”

For the planning process itself, a steering committee of invested residents and property owners convened to offer the design team input on the neighborhood’s assets and needs. This was followed by a public input session on 2nd St. The first draft of findings will be presented for additional input and comment in September. .The process looks to wrap-up by mid-fall, with results released later in the fall, or in early winter. The plan will show short term, “easy-win” projects as well as longer term, larger-scale projects and a plan for funding them.

For more information about the Northern Liberties Streetscape Vision Plan and to sign-up for updates visit www.explorenorthernliberties.org.

ABOUT NORTHERN LIBERTIES BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

Northern Liberties Business Improvement District was formed in 2018 to provide supplements to the municipal services of the City of Philadelphia; maintain a safe, clean and vibrant commercial district for the benefit of the residents, users, and owners within the district, and to citizens of Philadelphia and the region; to create opportunities for the business and residential communities to come together to make improvements to the district; and develop and implement programs and services that ensure that Northern Liberties continues to be a desirable place to live, work, shop, invest and visit. For more information, see explorenorthernliberties.org.

ABOUT KIERANTIMBERLAKE

KieranTimberlake is an award-winning architecture and research practice based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is internationally known for design leadership and technical innovation. Founded in 1984, KieranTimberlake is committed to creating positive change in the built environment through beauty and performance, designing buildings that are holistically integrated with their context.

ABOUT PORT

PORT is a nationally recognized Philadelphia- and Chicago-based public realm design consultancy comprising architects, landscape architects, urban designers and planners. PORT collaborates with communities on the imagining and implementation of generous and welcoming public spaces that equitably, creatively, and sustainably enhance the cities and landscapes in which they reside.