While the Master Plan made recommendations for development typologies and public access across the waterfront, it did not make a detailed examination of the types of development specifically appropriate on finger piers. The Master Plan broadly identified sustainability as a key goal but was unable to get into detail about resiliency best practices and the role these finger piers can play regarding rising sea levels and increasingly frequent and strong precipitation events and storms. As sea level rises, coastal hazards build and create new degrees of flood vulnerability that communities will have to address. Flooding can cause property damage and health risks for neighborhoods.

Study Area

The study area is just over ½ mile of the Delaware River waterfront, located between Washington Avenue and Pier 70 Blvd. The study area includes a range of recent development proposals of a variety of scales, for both finger piers and the adjacent upland parcels. Because of this mix of ownership, pier condition, and adjacent development proposals, this study area is a microcosm of the full six miles of waterfront governed by the Master Plan for the Central Delaware.

Questions for the Panel

• What are the market realities of the piers and adjacent properties within the study area?
  • How might the overall approach to development in the study area change depending on how the piers are used (green/public open space vs building development)?
  • How can the pier system and development along the Delaware River support each other financially and/or work together to reach resilience goals for DRWC and the City?
• If the piers can be developed with a building program, how might we incentivize resilient development the response to the goals of DRWC as outlined in the Master Plan?
• If they should remain green/public, what incentives/regulations should be in place to ensure property owners participate?
• What are the best practices for implementing the advised development/use program and how can DRWC, the City of Philadelphia, as well as state and federal agencies update their planning and regulatory documents to ensure resilient redevelopment long term?

Key Recommendations

1. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.  Fearlessly carry the torch of the comprehensive big-picture vision of a world-class Delaware River waterfront.
2. The City of Brotherly Love.  Articulate a truly inclusive vision of what it means to “provide access to the waterfront”.
3. Create People Places.  Put human experience at the center of the strategy.
4. Call the Plays.  DRWC is a mission-driven economic development organization and the quarterback of one of the most complex urban development projects in the City of Philadelphia.
5. Innovate or Lose.  Climate change, SLR and coastal inundation is real and embodies measurable and material risk to investment capital.
6. Always Stay a Step Ahead.  Planning never ends; planning anticipates new problems and finds new solutions across many phases, scales and issues of the project.
7. Work Your Land.  This site has land! …and land enables options, choices and flexible solutions.
8. Be a Knowledge Broker.  Investments in this complex waterfront (public and private) requires new knowledge, coordination, collaboration and negotiation.  This is DRWC’s call to action.
9. Broadcast Your Priorities.  An expansive vacant waterfront requires a clearly articulated value creation strategy and a risk mitigation plan.
10. Don’t Forget the Water!  The water is your gold and supports activities and uses that cannot be found anywhere else in the city.