The Avenue of the Arts, a 1-mile stretch of South Broad Street in Philadelphia, is undergoing a major $150 million transformation by Gensler and OJB.
Ten blocks between Philadelphia City Hall and Washington Avenue will have new landscaped medians, enhanced lighting, outdoor performance spaces, rotating public art and sculptural elements, plantings, trees, street furniture, artist-designed banners, better wayfinding, and more as part of the program.
“By prioritizing people, this transformation turns infrastructure into experience. It’s a model for how cultural corridors can support climate resilience, economic vitality, and everyday life in a 21st-century city,” Oliver Schaper, principal at Gensler and project lead, said in a statement.
Construction broke ground this week on the project steered by a nonprofit organization, Avenue of the Arts, Inc. The goal is to transform this section of South Broad Street into a world-renowned cultural destination stocked with verdant green spaces.
The initiative to transform South Broad Street was launched decades ago by former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. It brought high-profile buildings like the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts by Rafael Viñoly Architects, a new home for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Now, the effort to jumpstart the initiative is called AveArts 2.0.
Exterior realms outside the Kimmel Center, Dorrance Hamilton Hall (now part of the Village of Industry & Art), and other landmarks on South Broad Street will be revitalized thanks to AveArts 2.0.
After Philadelphia’s University of the Arts closed in 2024, its nine buildings went up for auction. Scout, a local development and design company, acquired two of the buildings: Dorrance Hamilton Hall and Furness Residence Hall, named after its architect, Frank Furness.
Scout is transforming these buildings that span the Avenue of the Arts into the Village of Industry & Art—a new creative destination that will host AIA Philadelphia, BlackStar Projects, Community Design Collaborative, DesignPhiladelphia, Monument Lab, the Stained Glass Project, and other groups.
Outside Dorrance Hamilton Hall, a new plaza for concerts, performances, and leisure will abound. The median outside the Kimmel Center will have new plantings and public art.
The project by Gensler and OJB will take place over the next decade in two phases.
On January 30, work will begin outside the Kimmel Center on the block between Spruce and Pine Streets. This will bring new lighting, a rainwater collection cistern, and a raised, landscaped median speckled with native trees and plantings.
“What begins here between Spruce and Pine Streets is the first visible chapter of a reimagined Avenue of the Arts,” Schaper told AN, “where lush planting beds, shade trees, sculptural canopy structures, integrated seating, curated lighting, and public art transform the street into a garden-like promenade that elevates the pedestrian experience and brings arts and culture into everyday life.
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