The time has come, says Center City District CEO Paul Levy, to revive some of its long-shelved ideas for development along the Schuylkill. "The interesting thing about ideas," he said, introducing Tuesday's CCD panel on linking Center City and University City, "is that they can sit out there until the market reality, until developer reality, until the momentum move to give life to them."
The idea is to bloat the boundaries of Center City: to create a "unified business, research, education, retail, residential center" spanning from roughly Front St. to 50th St. that is "completely transit-oriented."
"People are no longer just building buildings," he said. "They are looking at how the buildings connect the pedestrian fabric of the city."
During the panel, Jeff DeVuono, Executive Vice President and Senior Managing Director
briefed the audience on the details of the FMC Tower at Cira Center South in University City and according to PlanPhilly, he "relayed Brandywine's hope that the cumulative impact of theirs' and others' investments will bring about a "24-hour situation" livening up what is currently an institutional dead zone at night."
· Pieces coming together for a Schuylkill riverside community [Philly.com]
· All The Renderings: Cira Centre South's Final Tower [Curbed Philly]
· Center City District's dream of a street-level pedestrian promenade on the Schuylkill could become reality [Plan Philly]
- Megan Ritchie Jooste