"Exciting News'' for Ben Franklin Parkway

by KYW's Mike Dunn

Politicians enjoy handing out cash, and that's what Pennsylvania Governor Rendell was getting to do on Thursday on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Rendell was arriving with millions to spruce up the parkway.

Mayor Nutter didn't want to steal the governor's thunder, so he was mostly mum on Thursday's announcement:

"There's some exciting news for the Parkway: some projects that have been in the works for some time, certainly prior to my tenure as mayor."

Nutter does expect the projects to include pedestrian safety enhancements and beautification efforts.

Sources tell KYW Newsradio that Rendell was delivering $17 million for the various parkway projects, some of which is money from private foundations. All this as the mayor and governor prepare for the long-planned move of the Barnes Foundation to the parkway.

Meantime, the Center City District is moving ahead with plans to give Dilworth Plaza, west of City Hall, a complete makeover.

If built, the re-made plaza would feature a café, projection screen, and a fountain that could be turned into a skating rink.

Paul Levy, Executive Director of the CCD, briefed the Convention Center board on those plans on Wednesday. He said the Knight Foundation has given the CCD an $850 thousand grant for initial designs and engineering studies.

Levy says the plans would revitalize Dilworth Plaza, which is now mainly used by skateboarders and homeless people:

"So we see a space that's active in the daytime. Movies could be shown there in the evening. It's active in the summer and in the wintertime: a real center of the city that everybody comes to and enjoys as their own City Hall."

This plan is by no means certain. Levy has so far only secured money for the initial planning. He says the total price tag of this renovation would likely top $35 million.