Morning Headlines: Nutter and Clarke Make Plan for LOVE Park
JFK Plaza by Andos_pics via Flickr
After months of discussion, an accord has finally been reached for how to refurbish of JFK Plaza. According to the Inquirer’s Troy Graham, Mayor Nutter and City Council President Darrell Clarke signed a document “that outlines their ‘shared vision'” for the park. Compromise from both parties is evident in the new plan, which includes information about what would be retained, what would be added, and how it would all be funded.
To avoid dipping into the city’s reserves, the renovation project would funded by the sale of the garage beneath the plaza, and Liberty Property Trust would offer free planning and design services.
The mayor says the city will also apply for a $3 million grant from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. The park’s upkeep would fall, for the most part, on revenue from new concessions.
Clarke’s food trucks plan may have not made it into the this agreement, but perhaps one eatery may have managed to slip in; Mayor Nutter said the park would be “a premier eating site.”
Below is an outline of the project’s goals by PlanPhilly’s Jared Brey.
- Increase the total amount of green space at the park
- Allot dedicated space for the sale of concessions, as a revenue-generation strategy
- Maintain the diagonal flow of pedestrian traffic (mainly between the corner of 15th Street and JFK Boulevard and the corner of 16th and Arch streets) while opening up all four sides of the park
- Limit steps and various levels
- Incorporate new water features and horticultural elements
More JFK Plaza/LOVE Park restoration news:
• Nutter, Clarke present a vision for LOVE Park [Inquirer]
• Nutter, Clarke agree to preliminary plan for JFK Plaza [PlanPhilly]
Meanwhile, in headlines elsewhere…
• 3 finalists in sale of N. Phila. School [Daily News]
• Trenton China Building Finally Under Construction [Naked Philly]
• Philly students get a chance to live WELL [Inquirer]
• Visible progress at Dilworth Plaza [PlanPhilly]
• New Pennsylvania law will affect many real estate transactions [Inman News]
• Aston reschedules hearing on technical school expansion [Delco Times]
• Newtown developer poised to move forward with South State Street retail project [Bucks Local News]
