Rail Park Project to Get Additional Funding from City

A status update on the long-awaited Callowhill project.

Rendering courtesy of Studio Bryan Hanes

Rendering courtesy of Studio Bryan Hanes

The long-awaited Rail Park project in Callowhill is now $3.5 million away from reaching the $8.6 million goal required for construction. According to PlanPhilly’s Jim Saksa, this last boost came from the City of Philadelphia, which Councilman Mark Squilla says is pledging $1 million to the project, a sum separate from the $1.8 million it pledged originally.

The rest of the funds currently “in the bank,” so to speak, are courtesy of private donations and the William Penn and Knights Foundations, who pledged $1 million in March for landscaping.

So, who will chip in the remaining $3.5 million? Well, as mentioned before, the Center City District has been eyeing up the state’s RACP grant, which is, you guessed it, $3.5 million. Whether the remaining funds come from there or elsewhere is too soon to tell. However, construction bidding is certain to start soon after they’re acquired, followed by shovels to the ground, Saksa writes.

Once the CCD’s first phase of Rail Park construction is complete, it will pass onto the city.