Delaware River Waterfront
Urban Development

Philadelphia, PA

SS United States Adaptive Re-Use

Phase One: Casino Built on Land

  • Land area is liberated for open space

Phase Two: Integration of casino with SS United States

Additional commercial and residential spaces within the public plaza:

  • Restaurants, retail, and a parking structure

STATUS

TYPOLOGY

Masterplan & Urban Design

Unbuilt

SIZE

CLIENT

150,000 SF +

SS United States Conservancy

ARCHITECTS

Varenhorst Architects

Design Team: Stephen Varenhorst, AIA

SITE OVERVIEW

In our proposal, we reconnect the City of Philadelphia to the Delaware River Waterfront by creating a dramatic development that provides a new casino and a large public park with a restored SS United States as its centerpiece.

The first phase of the casino would be built on land with significant area for future expansion. On-site traffic flows comfortably off Columbus Avenue and along to the grand entrance between the ship and the building.

A subsequent phase of the casino brings life back to the SS United States with gaming floors, restaurants, bars, a ship museum, public viewing areas and a boutique hotel all housed on board the permanently moored vessel. By doing so, land area is liberated for open space and other uses.

SITE OVERVIEW

In addition to accommodating a full category 2 casino component, the development provides room for retail and restaurant expansions flanking the public landscaped plaza.

On the north side of the plaza, a large area is reserved for mixed residential and commercial uses. To the south, the landward portion of the casino and its parking structure are wrapped in a sculpted jacket of amenities with 150,000 square feet of commercial office space fronting Columbus Avenue.

We feel strongly that public access to the Delaware Waterfront is an integral part of the development. We are excited to propose an urban concept which is able to combine the SS United States, a national maritime treasure, sound business opportunities for the casino and other development, and a vibrant public space at the waterfront in keeping with the guidelines prepared by Penn Praxis in their Civic Vision for the Central Delaware.