The Central Delaware River Waterfront has been a center of commerce and development in Philadelphia since the city’s inception. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the river played a crucial role as Philadelphia developed into one of the busiest industrial centers in the world. As industry declined through the 20th century, the waterfront was left with vacant, and in some cases, environmentally contaminated land. Additionally, as jobs became scarce, residents left the adjacent dense, working-class neighborhoods, and the once-thriving waterfront became a barren landscape which was then cut off even further from the city by the construction of Interstate 95 in the 1970s. Beginning in the mid-1990s a development boom led to a handful of new commercial and residential projects, but these were done without an overall waterfront plan in place to guide effective development. Prime for redevelopment

An overarching principle for both the early action projects and the waterfront master plan is to utilize targeted investment in infrastructure such as parks, trails, and streets to leverage private investment and development on the privately owned parcels, which comprise over 95% of the 6-mile, 1200-acre project area. The two early action parks are great examples of this, as the Race Street Pier has spurred development interest in two nearby vacant buildings, one of which is listed on the local historic register. ...

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