Starting with Broad Street in 2026, a decadelong $100-million project is expected to be set in motion
By Peter Dobrin, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jul 9, 2024
A greener, art-infused streetscape is expected to debut on a single block of South Broad Street in 2026 — setting the stage for a more ambitious, decadelong $100-million makeover of the entire stretch of Avenue of the Arts south.
“It’s moving along, it’s going to happen,” said Avenue of the Arts, Inc. executive director Laura Burkhardt of the beautification initiative, to be announced Tuesday.
More than three decades have passed since Broad Street from City Hall to Washington Avenue was branded as the Avenue of the Arts, bringing retro light poles, planters, and checkerboard pavers along with hundreds of millions of dollars in new arts facilities.
Now (left) and Render (below, right)
A perspective of the proposed streetscape looking north on Broad Street from a spot in front of Dorrance Hamilton Hall at the former University of the Arts. The Broad Street overhang of the Kimmel Center is seen on the left.
The new streetscape proposes next-generation concepts like traffic-calming devices and lush plantings, but the overarching objective is the same as the first:
“To get more people excited about South Broad and to attract more economic development,” said Burkhardt. “That’s the goal — to make it more beautiful and livable, to support the arts and to give people a reason to come down and visit.”
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