(June 14, 2013) The Schuylkill Banks trail and greenway is more than just a pretty place to get some exercise, according to a recent economic study.

It will cost a total of $60 million to build the trail sections and affiliated parts that are either complete now or scheduled to be finished by 2015. The study by Econsult Solutions says that direct expenditure will create 320 jobs within the city and 1,020 state wide; generate $780,000 in city tax revenues and $3.2 million in state tax revenues. It will produce $89.4 million in total expenditures, when taking into account both the direct expenditures – the costs of creating and maintaining the green space – and indirect expenditures – such as trail workers spending their earnings and goods and services.

The river projects also have and will continue to have a positive impact on housing values in the development area, said economist Lee Huang, a senior vice president and principal at Econsult Solutions who worked on the study, which was paid for by the Schuylkill River Development Corporation, the entity building the trail.

“We've always felt there were economic benefits to the trail, and that it is an economic engine, not just a recreational thing,” said SRDC President Joe Syrnick. “The economic engine is an argument that makes more sense when the biggest problem we have is funding,” he said. “We can say it's not a cost, but an investment. These things will pay for themselves over time.”

Syrnick, who made these comments at a recent Philadelphia City Planning Commission meeting, recused himself when the rest of the board voted to support a property bill that will allow SRDC to build the planned portion of the trail from South Street to Christian Street. The bill, green lighting the commissioner of public property to acquire land from the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, has since passed council.

Huang, of Econsult, said that the initial impacts of building a riverfront trail and parks are no different than spending the same amount on any other project – it's money pumped into the local economy through the purchase of labor and goods, and cycled again by suppliers making more product and workers spending their wages. “But what you are left with when you are done could be very different,” he said. Huang noted there is more and more literature on the economic benefit of trails, and the positive impact they have on property values.

“You see their usefulness in drawing both employees and employers to an area,” he said. “Increasingly, when people are looking for a place to live and work, or a place to relocate or expand their business, they are looking for a place where they can have outdoor amenities.”

And the trail along the Schuylkill – which Huang himself uses - “Is a really nice amenity that people enjoy.”

The Econsult study says the average value of a home in the SRDC development area was $123,020 in 2000, and had increased to $312,252 by 2011. “Investments made by SRDC were therefore partially responsible for an increase of over 150 percent in residential property value near the Schuylkill Banks since 2000.”

Noting that property value in many parts of the city increased during that time, PlanPhilly asked Huang if it was possible to tease out the portion of that increase directly attributable to the Schuylkill Banks projects.

Huang said Econsult did not extract that for this report, but did so for a PennFuture study in 2010. In that study, he said, the economists sought to answer the question: What are the economic benefits of building out the waterfront trail on both sides of both rivers.

The conclusion, reached in part by looking at earlier Philadelphia studies and reports: “People are willing to pay a 4- to 7-percent premium for parcels within short walking distance” from a trail or green space, Huang said.

Paul R. Levy, President and CEO of the Center City District, called the accessibility of some of the Schuylkill Banks projects to Center City residents “an extraordinary advantage.” He sits on the Schuylkill River Development Corporation board, lives close to the Schuylkill, and said the trail is used by everyone from young professionals to families with kids.

Levy said investing in Schuylkill Banks and other parks and green space is crucial “if we're going to get more North Americans to live in high-density cities.” For all the wonderful things city life offers, it doesn't offer the back yards of the suburbs, he said. “These spaces are our backyards.”

“We need to be doing the same thing on the Delaware,” he said.

The city has a Master Plan for the Central Delaware, and a trail and new parks are part of it. Some parts are finished, and others are underway.

Huang said the findings of the Schuylkill Banks study could be extrapolated to the Central Delaware Riverfront.

“One would think, in a broad sense, the economic impact of having something like Schuylkill Banks, along the Delaware would be just as impactful, if not more impactful,” he said. “More people live close to the (Delaware) River.”

City zoning law requires that any riverfront development along the Delaware or Schuylkill be set back 50 feet from the water. It is within this setback that the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation is planning to build much of the trail. Some development advocates have said this and open space requirements and other provisions of the new Central Delaware Overlay will financially harm landowners or developers.

Huang said that requirements may cost some landowners or developers more than the value that would be added to their property by a trail or other waterfront amenity, depending on circumstances.

“On one hand, they are forgoing space they can develop on, and generate revenues from,” he said. “On the other hand, being connected to a trailway confers additional value.”

Huang says whether the benefits outweigh the cost for an individual developer/land owner depends on a lot of factors, including the size of the parcel, how intensely the parcel is being developed, and the spatial distribution of the development. “In some cases (a setback) is no big deal. In some cases, it can be somewhat punitive, depending on what would have been done with the land otherwise.”

Are there any negative impacts on other city residents?

It may make it more difficult for some people to afford their taxes or rent, Huang said, but for most property owners, the impact is overall very positive. He went on:

“If I own property, and something good is added nearby and I enjoy that thing, then yay for me. But even if I don't enjoy it, I”m benefiting because the value of my property has gone up in the marketplace,” he said.

But if assessments are kept up to date, the positive growth will be somewhat offset by an increase in the property tax bill.

This can be difficult for people on fixed incomes, he said. And tax increases are generally passed on to renters with increased rent, he said, and while they have a new amenity to enjoy, some may be eventually forced out by the increase.

But Huang said for most nearby residents, the positives far outweigh the negatives. An increase in property value “is what most people in America are striving for.”

http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/06/14/study-says-schuylkill-banks-projects-are-an-economic-engine

Just in time for the high season, nine banners with trail etiquette messages were installed today on Schuylkill Banks.

The messages include sharing the path, slowing down and being courteous.  

Over 800,000 people use Schuylkill Banks annually and on beautiful warm days, the number of people using the path can make you think you are on I-76 on a Phillies/Eagles game day.  User conflicts are not uncommon and The Circuit Coalition decided this was a good place to communicate tastefully some messages about civility and safety.

Many were involved in making these banners possible: the William Penn Foundation, Schuylkill River Development Corporation, Maskar Design, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, the Narducci Brothers, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.  

See you on The Circuit!

By Kellie Patrick Gates, published in Plan Philly

April 29, 2013  A silvery metal pier newly jutting into the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia's Forgotten Bottom neighborhood offers open views of the water and the University Ave./34th St. Bridge. Glimpses of the Woodlands Cemetery and Mansion can be seen behind trees across the water.

In its past life, the pier was owned by Dupont Marshall Labs. This is the spot where river water was pumped through still-visible pipes in case of a fire. The pier has been revitalized as one of the latest addition to the Grey's Ferry Crescent segment of the Schuylkill Banks Trail.

“The Fishing Pier,” Schuylkill River Development Corporation President Joe Syrnick calls it on a recent visit. Indeed, that's what a lot of its visitors do there.

A bend in the curvaceous Schuylkill hides a tract of land on the opposite bank where design is underway for the Bartram's Mile trail segment. Construction will begin in 2014 or 2015, said SRDC Director of Marketing Danielle Gray, and the segment will open in 2015 or 2016.

Bartram's Mile will connect walkers, joggers and bicyclists to the plants and open space and historic buildings of Bartram's Gardens.

But first, the SRDC has to secure a way to get trail users from the east side of the river – where Grays Ferry Crescent lies – to the west side – the home of Bartram's Gardens and the in-the-works Bartram's mile.

The plan: Reusing an old freight train bridge, just south of Grays Ferry Avenue.

While rusty, the bridge is structurally sound, Syrnick said. A swing bridge that once closed for freight trains but swung open for tall watercraft, it has been in the open position for decades.

But SRDC hasn't yet reached a deal that would allow the bridge to be incorporated into the trail. Syrnick isn't worried about acquiring the swing bridge - talks with the railroad that owns it have been great.  He's worried about how far above the water the re-purposed span would rest.

Under the trail plan, the old swing bridge would be closed permanently. At its current height, the span would cross 22 feet above the water. SRDC proposes making the supports higher, so that it is 35 feet high – about the same height as the South Street Bridge.

Some industrial users of the river have concerns that height could interfere with some barge traffic, however. SRDC has hired a consultant to negotiate with river-users.

The higher the bridge is, the more expensive that part of the trail would be, Syrnick said. But he is also concerned about the aesthetics and the experience trail users would have if they had to use long ramps to get to the higher height.

When asked if trail users couldn't cross on the nearby Grays Ferry Avenue bridge, Syrnick, who was once the city's chief engineer, said that bridge carries a lot of traffic, including trucks. Giving those in motor vehicles and those on foot or bicycles separate crossings is “better for motorists and for recreational users,” he said.

Syrnick also likes re-using part of the city's industrial past that otherwise could wind up as scrap metal. “It's a critical, critical link,” he said of this piece of trail. Without it, Bartram's Mile will be isolated.

This project is projected to cost about $8 million, depending on the bridge height. The SRDC has the $400,000 for planning, acquired through a grant. They've begun raising money for construction, Gray said.

Under the Schuylkill Banks trail plan, recreational users will one day be able to travel along the river from Fairmount Park to the confluence with the Delaware River. That day is probably 20 years off, Syrnick said.

Currently, users can travel from Kelly Drive, past the Art Museum to Locust Street. The Grays Ferry Crescent and Bartram's Garden segments are also complete, but as indicated earlier, are not connected.

But SRDC is now finishing work on the last of seven priority projects outlined in its 2003 master plan: A boardwalk and ramp that would extend the trail to South Street. These $17 million projects are expected to be finished in late summer 2014.

Design work is also underway on a segment that would stretch to Christian Street.

In addition to these capital projects, the SRDC hosts events near and on the river. After a one-year hiatus caused by a disagreement with the former operator, the SRDC's riverboat tours program is back.  Learn more about the tours and other events and projects at the Schuylkill Banks website, here.

The “Boat to Bartram's Garden Tour” starts on Mother's Day. It includes one hour of on-the-river transit time and a two-hour tour of Bartram's Gardens. Some seats are still available, Gray said, and the SRDC is pondering adding a fourth tour. Boaters board The Schuylkill Perch at the Walnut Street Dock, beneath Walnut Street.

The regular riverboat tour season begins May 30. In addition to the Bartram's Garden option, there's a one hour “Secrets of the Schuylkill” tour, which also boards at the Walnut Street Dock. From Walnut Street, The Perch heads north to Fairmount, and then down river to Bartram's before heading back to dock.

On either tour, travelers learn about river sites and history – and SRDC's trail.

Syrnick notes that many of the old mansions and homes near the Schuylkill, including the Bartram house, were built with their fronts facing the river.

“Today, everyone visits by car, but (centuries ago), visitors came by boat,” he said. Boat tour takers will re-live that experience, he said.

Back at the Grays Crescent Fishing Pier, a low-slung, rectangular building clings to the riverbank.

That building was once a hotel where Philadelphia Eagles stayed during home games, Syrnick said. To learn more about the unusual structure, and waive to current residents, take a boat tour, he suggests.