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What they desperately need to do is bust through underground from the streetcar to 30th st station. I’ve never understood why this connection isn’t better.
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Probably because Schuylkill Yards is more allinged with the busy part of the city and it’s closer to Cira, Evo and FMC, the towers that started the growth in West Philly. I think tenants would not look forward to hearing trains while they’re constructing the PD30 towers…though I think it’s pretty successful with Hudson Yards
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They just renovated it about 12 years ago.
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It seems like they’re helping build the towers too
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Philadelphia will hopefully see massive change here with the 30th Street Station Master Plan and the Center City Septa Railyard project.
“Drexel and Brandywine originally wanted to create an even bigger Schuylkill Yards by capping part of the Amtrak railyard north of 30th Street station and extending the street grid over the tracks. But Sweeney told the Inquirer he dropped the idea because of the difficulty of building over the Northeast Corridor train line and the amount of time it would take.”
Building over the tracks very expensive especially considering the amount of open land available nearby.
I just find it funny that they’ve been wanting to do this since the 80’s, probably even before too. The right developer and the sacrifice to spend so much is the only way it could get done
Philly has so many problems. There’s a mentality issue about getting things done and it stems from Harrisburg.
Every city has their pros and cons
They keep plugging along!
Renovation on 30th Street Station started in 2021
Renovations on the new corporate office starts November 2023
Renovation of the retail areas will be underway in January 2024
Market Street Plaza starts construction in September 2025
All renovations and construction could be complete by the end of 2027
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I’m sure this will very nice. But it’s annoying that they have yet to move forward with restoring the tunnel connecting to the subway.
There’s a tunnel that goes all the way to the subway?
Yes, it’s mentioned in this article here:
In the mid-20th century, there was a direct connection between the two 30th Street stations that made wayfinding simple.
Few photos or schematics of that former connector are easily accessible, but David Brownlee, a professor emeritus of modern architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, remembers it clearly.
“There was a stairway — and maybe an escalator” in the middle of the above-ground concourse leading from one side of the Amtrak station to the Great Hall, Brownlee recalled, describing how it “narrow[ed] down into an underground tunnel connecting to the blue line and the green line” in SEPTA’s Market Street station.
“It was an enormous advantage not having to come up from the subway and cross the street,” Brownlee said.
The tunnel was shut down in 1984 due to concerns around storm leakage, inadequate lighting, and fire hazards.
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That explains a lot. Thank you. I always wondered why the SEPTA station led toward Penn, then came to an abrupt halt.