The Master Plan for the Lower Schuylkill River District is a blueprint for sustainable redevelopment of the industrial corridor along the east and west banks of the Lower Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. This public-private initiative was led by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce, with funding from the William Penn Foundation, the City of Philadelphia, and EPA Brownfield Grants.
“Bartram’s Mile,” a keystone of the Master Plan, is one mile of river frontage along the western banks of the Tidal Schuylkill between Grays Ferry Avenue and 58th Street. This portion of the Schuylkill River was cut off from public access for decades, thus representing an opportunity to not only link to Bartram’s Garden, the Schuylkill River Trail, and the 58th Street Greenway, but also add two new parks to be community assets for years to come.
Verdantas was the lead environmental consultant to the PIDC and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation in support of the Master Plan; specifically, the remedial design and cleanup oversight of two targeted Brownfield properties that flank Bartram’s Gardens to the north and south. These EPA Brownfield sites, Bartram North and Bartram South, are former bulk oil terminals that received product by barge and rail and stored millions of gallons of oil on-site. Soils and groundwater at these sites were significantly impacted by petroleum. With Verdantas' oversight, both sites have since received Act 2 liability protection for environmental conditions. In addition to environmental consulting services, Verdantas provided geotechnical, structural, and civil engineering services in connection with stormwater management, the assessment of the structural stability of an on-site dock, construction of a shade structure at Bartram South, and a FEMA floodplain analysis. Bartram’s Mile opened in April 2017 providing the community a space for walking, biking, running and bird watching.
Client
Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and the City of Philadelphia Department of CommerceLocation
Philadelphia, PACapability
Environmental Assessment & RemediationCivil Infrastructure
Services
Site AssessmentRemediation
Site Engineering
Structural Design
Coastal Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering
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