Northbank
2023 / Philadelphia PA
BETWEEN THE RIVER AND THE CITY
This 45-acre multiblock project is situated on the banks of the Delaware River at the northern end of a long-planned network of green spaces and recreational amenities along the river’s edge. With nearly 2000 linear feet of river frontage originally formed around the docks and piers of Cramp’s shipyard, the site offers expansive views of the river and the Ben Franklin Bridge to the south. Since the shipyard’s closing, the landfilled parcel sat vacant and disconnected from Port Richmond’s nearby mixed-use amenities and rowhouse fabric by the elevated I-95 expressway.
A LINKED LANDSCAPE
Transforming this vacant, formerly industrial parcel into a dense, active development, the Northbank project creates a new rowhouse neighborhood encouraging linkages to the waterfront. Pedestrian connections to water’s edge trails, constructed and maintained by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC), provide direct access to a new 1-acre public park at the center of the site. The project’s layout references the city’s rowhouse heritage while opening access to its historically closed riverfront – both for residents and the general public.
BLOCK LOGIC
The program includes hundreds of apartments and single-family homes situated along landscaped pedestrian paths running perpendicular to the river. Kinks in the site plan create unexpected view corridors, and vehicular circulation is tucked behind active building edges in rear-access garages.
