The JFK Boulevard Streetscape update responds to one of the nation’s most transit-oriented urban districts, where nearly 70% of Philadelphia’s University City residents commute by foot, bike, or public transit. As the primary gateway to 30th Street Station, the third-busiest Amtrak station in the country, JFK Boulevard carried the weight of a major civic corridor while remaining designed almost entirely around the personal vehicle, a disconnect that contributed to a disproportionate number of traffic crashes. The redesign advances the vision of the Schuylkill Yards Master Plan, a landmark partnership between Brandywine Realty and Drexel University to reimagine this stretch of Philadelphia’s skyline, rebalancing the street for all modes while improving safety and environmental performance.
The transformed boulevard is conceived as an outstanding public space in its own right: a multimodal streetscape that reflects the evolving character of University City and anticipates the high-density, mixed-use growth being realized through Schuylkill Yards. Innovative placemaking anchors the emerging neighborhood’s identity and supports its continued momentum, creating a corridor that is as memorable and equitable as the community it serves. SWA/Balsley worked closely with the Philadelphia Department of Streets, Philadelphia Water Department, Amtrak, SEPTA, and PennDOT to achieve this outcome.
Jinbocho Redevelopment
Situated in central Tokyo’s university and publishing district, this new mixed-use project brought urban streetscape character to its immediate neighborhood through the introduction of plazas whose fountains, seating areas, cafes and sculptures serve residents, workers, and the community as a refuge from the busy streets.
A diagram of pedestrian flows t...
33 Beekman
33 Beekman Street Plaza is a public plaza that also serves as the front entrance to a new 30-story Pace University Dormitory, located in the financial district. The contemporary plaza appearance synchronizes with the contemporary plaza of Frank Gehry’s high-rise residential tower across Beekman Street to South.
Grand Candela Memorial
The “Grand Candela” commemorates the victims and survivors of the August 2019 mass shooting tragedy at Walmart’s Cielo Vista store. Inspired by the motif of an everlasting candle and set in a plaza within the store’s parking lot, the memorial offers a dedicated place of healing and remembrance. Twenty-two columns of perforated metal, one for each life lost, ar...
Balsley Park
Located on Manhattan’s West Side, Balsley Park, formerly known as Sheffield Plaza, has been transformed from a barren, lifeless plaza into the community’s most cherished common ground.
Following public outcry and many failed attempts to redesign the plaza, Thomas Balsley Associates was hired to build community consensus around a new park-like image and ...