Revitalization of Girard Square Announced at 2116 Chestnut Grand Opening

Today was the grand opening of 2116 Chestnut (left), a 34-story residential building that already has more than 100 people moved in. Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger, who was intimately involved in making 2116 Chestnut happen, said in a statement that the city “is fast becoming a place of choice for exciting new projects which bring with them investment, new public spaces, and jobs.”

In fact, 2116 Chestnut provided 800 jobs. It was developed by the John Buck Company of Chicago along with the INDURE Fund, whose CEO, Jeff Kanne, trumpeted another indication of the fund’s faith in the city: “the complete revitalization of the Girard Trust Property on Market Street, with a targeted construction date of 2014.”

We assume Kanne is talking about Girard Square (formerly owned by the city-run Girard Trust) between 11th and 12th, for which INDURE has been trying to secure city or state funding for more than a year. (At the groundbreaking for 2116 Chestnut last year, in fact, Kanne told the Inquirer’s Joseph N. DiStefano that any plan he has for Girard Square “depends on getting money.”)

But any collaboration between INDURE and the City of Philadelphia on Girard Square is apparently in infantile stages. When we called the Mayor’s Office to get further information on Kanne’s proclamation, which was quoted in a city press release, we were referred to INDURE for everything–even for verification of which block of Market Street Kanne was talking about. A call to INDURE was not returned as of press time, but a few months ago, we heard another one of those rumors about Target coming to that block of Market Street. At this point, however, it’s the big-box that cried wolf. No one will believe it, even if it gets here.