University City District ramps up fundraising for $60M waterfront project on Schuylkill River

University City District has started to meet with state lawmakers as the business improvement district ramps up fundraising efforts for its $60 million West Philadelphia Waterfront project.

The waterfront project, first proposed last spring, calls for a two-deck structure along the west bank of the Schuylkill River between Market and Chestnut streets. The lower deck would have amenities like a beach, an aquatic marsh, a café and a water feature.

The water feature was originally envisioned as a pool, but planners are now considering a fountain and splash pad instead.

Construction on the West Philadelphia Waterfront project likely wouldn’t begin until 2027 at the earliest, University City District officials said. By pushing the start date back, it won’t have to compete for funding with a crush of local events and projects tied to the country’s 250th birthday in 2026, which is commanding attention from city, state and federal agencies.

The nonprofit organization is targeting a mix of philanthropic, public and private investments to fund the project. Before putting together the full $60 million, University City District aims to raise $600,000 by this summer to launch a community engagement process, Senior Vice President of Strategy Sarah Steltz said.

As part of the fundraising push, University City District moved Morgan Rogers Burns from her development director role to vice president of advancement. While Rogers Burns joined the organization in 2017, the new position is meant for her to specialize in fundraising for the waterfront project and other initiatives full-time. The move was necessary given the scope of the proposal, Steltz said.

“This is going to require a team effort,” Steltz said. “We’re starting a conversation with [state lawmakers]. I think there was a lot of excitement. People recognize the opportunity associated with the waterfront, and they see what’s been done around waterfronts in other cities. We’re feeling really good about kicking off the fundraising.”

If everything goes according to plan, University City District anticipates a six-month community engagement process and a year and a half for final engineering. That would clear the way for construction to start in 2027, with the project likely taking about two years to complete.

As the waterfront project continued to take shape over the past year, University City District Director of Planning and Design Nate Hommel said his goal was to get potential funding agencies to say “maybe.” Knowing he’d eventually be asking for money, Hommel didn’t immediately request financial commitments with a set plan in place.

Instead he asked, “Are we crazy?” When people didn’t immediately reject the idea, Hommel solicited design ideas to help secure support.

That’s how the idea of a fountain and splash pad instead of a pool came about. While both designs are being considered, Hommel said the splash pad would be more accessible to visitors with physical challenges, such as someone in a wheelchair. The splash pad option wouldn’t affect the project’s estimated cost, Steltz said.

The two-deck structure would be elevated above the 500-year floodplain. While a beach with sand is planned to be included, it wouldn’t lead directly into the river. All of the features would be built on top of the structure.

When the proposal was first publicized, Steltz said the pool concept “took a lot of the oxygen.” Since then, she said University City District has learned more about the preferences of local stakeholders. The community engagement process is meant to collect more ideas to enhance the design.

A key component of the pitch to potential donors, Hommel said, is that the waterfront park would help combat some of the effects of climate change on local residents.

“We really are hanging on this concept of shade as equity,” Hommel said. “As our cities get hotter, people shouldn’t have to have money to get in the shade to cool down. There should be free places people can go to to get out of that oppressive heat.”

Steltz described the West Philadelphia Waterfront project as a recreational destination amenity in University City. It’s a transit-rich site given the proximity to the Market-Frankford Line stop at 30th Street. It’s also accessible to cyclists coming from the Schuylkill River Trail on the east side of the river, a prime example of how public space has leveraged the river to become an attraction.

University City District’s track record of creating public spaces includes the nearby Porch at 30th Street Station. Elsewhere in Philadelphia, efforts are being made to maximize waterfront real estate. Along the Delaware River, the future 11.5-acre Penn’s Landing Park is planned to connect Front Street to the river between Chestnut and Walnut streets above I-95, a $430 million project.

For now, the west side of the Schuylkill River isn’t being taken advantage of, Steltz said. She believes the plan to build a two-deck park on top of it could unlock both quality of life and economic opportunities. But it’ll take a substantial fundraising effort to turn the vision into reality.

by Paul Schwedelson