Naked Philly: Big Grant Will Mean Future Improvements at the Porch

Thursday, July 26, 2012

When the folks from University City District dedicated The Porch last November, they could hardly afford to purchase planters to decorate this new public space outside 30th Street Station.

They brainstormed and eventually purchased agricultural troughs that formerly were used to feed livestock (moo). Then they applied green technology to the troughs and retrofitted the basins and transformed them into the planters that now dot Market Street.

That’s a good idea. And there will be more on the way thanks to a recent $500K grant (they fabricated the park with $275K in capital resources) offered by the William Penn Foundation. According to UCD’s director of planning and economic development Prema Gupta, the vision for UCD is to create a park in phases that when completed, will offer the same quality amenities as the recently renovated Sisters City Park, or the still new Race Street Pier. The grant will contribute to that vision and be applied to future programming and infrastructure.

“I think the era of being able to create a park like [that] in one full swoop is over,” said Gupta.

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