Manayunk's Venice Island: Fights and Neglect

This month, Brownstoner Philadelphia is examining the Manayunk Historic District in a couple of posts every week. Here's the latest...Once chock full of factories and mills, Venice Island — the now-mostly-desolate strip of land between the Manayunk Canal and the Schuylkill River — became a site of hot debate in the late 1990s when City Council proposed upgrading the island's zoning from industrial to residential to allow for condo developments. Neighborhood residents fought the good fight, citing the island's history of flooding (18 times between 1822 and 1999) and traffic/parking congestion. Even FEMA's director wrote a letter opposing development. Nonetheless, the bill was passed in 1999. Within the year, two condo projects got approval. A chronology of the Venice Island projects is on this page of the Manayunk Neighborhood Council's website. Attention now is focused on the lower portion of Venice Island, where the plan is for a park, recreation, and performance center that will be managed by the Parks and Recreation Department. We asked Nicole Link, the president of Friends of the Manayunk Canal, about these issues.

What happened around 1998 to make the City Council want to see residential development on Venice Island?
Link: The housing market was booming, and private developers requested rezoning of Venice Island from industrial to residential. The decision of whether to rezone the island was highly contentious and ultimately went all the way to the State Supreme Court where the decision was made that the City Council could rezone the island, despite the significant flood risks and historic character of the area.

Click through to read more.

What do you know of the status of the park/rec center/performance center plans? Are you satisfied with the proposal?
Link: Last I knew they were going to bid this spring (basically now). Friends of the Manayunk Canal hasn't formally taken a position on the latest design proposal. We seek a design that provides the most access visually and physically for citizens to the history, culture and environmental resources of the Manayunk Canal and Schuylkill River. We also strongly support a diversity of recreational uses and feel that public dock or boat launch is currently a missing element that should be included.

Regarding the Manayunk Canal, is there something you'd very much like to see happen, as opposed to the projects that can/do get funding?
Link: FMC would love to see the Manayunk Canal and its Locks restored to working order, a project which has been proposed to Congress for funding numerous times unsuccessfully so far.

Are there any new challenges you see (or maybe fear) looming on the horizon?
Link: I think the most recent challenge that has presented itself is how to maintain the momentum and energy around greening and cleaning the Towpath and Canal when privately owned land on Venice Island is being left undeveloped and vacant as a result of the downturn in the economy. The old Carmella's restaurant site is a perfect example of a piece of property that was viable and active prior to its purchase by a private developer. The private developer who intends to build condos has not moved forward with construction because of the economy and has allowed the site to deteriorate badly. This unkempt, abandoned appearance gives the impression that no one cares about this space and seems to have indirectly spawned more vandalism and graffiti along the Towpath. Ongoing challenges are making a persuasive case to private developers (both residential and commercial) that having a vibrant, accessible, environmentally healthy Towpath and Canal will benefit them financially as well as serve the community as an amenity.

Earlier HD coverage:
The Saga of Manayunk's 3 Rector St. [Brownstoner]
Main Street Manayunk: The Railroad [Brownstoner]
3 Historic District Buildings, 3 Different Fates [Brownstoner]
Main Street Manayunk: The Mill Buildings [Brownstoner]
Main Street Manayunk's Origins: The Canal [Brownstoner]
Main Street Manayunk: City's 1st Historic District [Brownstoner]

By Theresa Everline at May 24, 2010 11:07 AM | Comments (0)