Windows on the Worst

Amy L. Webb

The Philadelphia skyline is about to expand. Israeli developer Artsi Wine and the city of Philadelphia unveiled plans at a press conference last Friday for a multi-year, $280-million project that would add five condominium towers along the Delaware River.

One-bedroom units at the Waterfront Square complex will start at $253,000, while 2,642-square-foot penthouse suites will cost more than $1.6 million. In all, the buildings will house 743 units.

Amenities include an all-hours hotel-style concierge, a gigantic fitness facility, free on-site parking and massive windows to optimize views and light affording breathtaking panoramic views, according to Waterfront's brochure.

How breathtaking they'll be depends, of course, on how far up those massive windows are.

Waterfront Square sits at piers 36 to 39 on Delaware Avenue, north of Spring Garden Street and just south of Port Richmond. Across the street from the site is a dilapidated brick warehouse spanning more than a city block. A wilting Northern Liberties Storage sign hangs off one corner of the building.

North of that building is more blight: a forsaken edifice, an abandoned ship and roads in disrepair. Only the concrete slabs of Interstate 95 obscure some of that eyesore. On New Jersey¹s side of the river, industrial machines, tanks and shipping depots dot the horizon.

A guarded fence will surround the three-acre complex, making Waterfront the first gated community within the city limits, according to planning officials. But what is the gate for? To cultivate an allure of luxury and exclusivity or to barricade the rotting buildings across the street?

Gov. Ed Rendell lauded Waterfront as a way to bring people back to town. First District City Councilman Frank DiCicco also said that the development would be a boon for Northern Liberties. So far, Wine hasn't broken ground, but he said that he hopes to begin construction on the first building -- which will also be his first large-scale project in the U.S. -- in January. The project is slated for completion by 2009.

Regardless of what happens to the rest of the surrounding neighborhood, the riverfront should continue to change while Waterfront is built. The DePaul Group's Dockside -- the 242-unit apartment building that looks like a cruise ship -- brought residential interest to the area south of the Ben Franklin Bridge. Still, whether the Waterfront will bring big spenders north of the bridge remains to be seen. But for those who come, it may be best to pack extra-large window coverings.