Momentum continues to build for the Reading Viaduct park project, and once again it’s getting national attention.
The 4.7-acre, mile-long Reading Viaduct, an abandoned elevated train track that runs 10 blocks through the Callowhill and Chinatown neighborhoods just north of Center City, has gone unused since service on it was discontinued in 1984, when the Center City commuter tunnel was opened.
For the past few years, there’s been a concerted effort to transform the defunct railway into an elevated public open green space.
And now there seems to finally be real progress being made.
SEPTA has given permission for the development of a small spur of the Viaduct that it owns. As opposed to the majority of the Viaduct, which is owned by Reading International, an entertainment conglomerate that absorbed much of the holdings of the Reading Railroad when it closed. The City of Philadelphia is having ongoing talks with Reading International to obtain ownership of the rest of the Viaduct.
In the meantime, The William Penn Foundation has provided funding for preliminary design ideas for converting the SEPTA-owned spur into an elevated park. The Center City District is working on that part of the project.
Paul Levy, the Executive Director of the Center City District, is quoted in the Post’s story, commenting specifically about the idea to design and develop the first phase of the Viaduct on this spur:
“We’re talking about a $3 million to $5 million piece that could be achievable and used as a demonstration” to boost the rest of the project, Levy said. “We don’t need to spend $150 million like the High Line. We don’t need something elaborate for it to be an asset that everyone can enjoy.”
The Center City District has commissioned a design study for what could be the first phase of the Reading Viaduct, which would transform the SEPTA-owned portion of the viaduct that runs from Callowhill to 13th and Noble Streets.
You can read more about the background of the project in our previous post.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Reading Viaduct project, the Academy of Natural Sciences is hosting a Town Square program about the project next month, with a panel including Paul Levy of CCD and Alan Greenberger, the Chair of the City Planning Commission.
We’re very excited to see that this incredibly promising project is moving forward and can’t wait to see the designs for the first phase.
NYC skyline park inspires ideas for new life for old viaduct blighting Philly’s ‘eraserhood’ [Washington Post]
Reading Viaduct Project [Official Site]
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