Mayor Kenney Recognizes the Significance of LOVE Park as a Skateboarding Mecca.
PHILADELPHIA – Today, Mayor Jim Kenny was joined by Council President Darrell Clarke and City officials for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick-off the redesign of John F. Kennedy Plaza / LOVE Park and the renovation of the Welcome Center.
“LOVE Park is an iconic destination for both Philadelphians and visitors from around the globe,” said Mayor Kenney. “Today’s groundbreaking is the culmination of years of planning and public input. In the redesigned LOVE Park, we will be able to strike a balance between preserving its beloved features and enhancing its amenities and programming.”
Construction on LOVE Park will begin in Spring 2016. The LOVE Park redesign was conceived in partnership between Hargreaves Associates and KieranTimberlake in 2015 after a national selection process and robust community engagement process.
The new park design will feature the famous LOVE statue by Robert Indiana, more green space, a new fountain, a reorganized layout and several food truck vendors. Structural upgrades will also be made, specifically replacing the waterproof membrane and making the garage more accessible to people with disabilities.
The Welcome Center, affectionately referred to as “the saucer” by local residents is also slated for renovation. The building, originally constructed in the 1960s, will keep its iconic shape while receiving some energy-efficient upgrades in the form of frameless glass windows, and new lighting technology. Ultimately, the Welcome Center will be transformed into a premier dining destination and a source of earned revenue for the park. The construction budget for the new LOVE Park and Welcome Center is $19.7 million
“The newly designed LOVE Park will become Philadelphia’s next great public space and will serve as a capstone to the incredible investments that have been made to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway over the last 10 years,” said Kathryn Ott Lovell, Parks and Recreation Commissioner. “LOVE Park will continue to be a gathering space for Philadelphians young and old, for neighbors, business people and tourists, and for individuals seeking to come together to share their civic pride.”
During construction, the LOVE sculpture will be moved from LOVE Park and temporarily placed in Dilworth Park through summer 2016. The sculpture will receive a complete restoration prior to its return to LOVE Park.
When LOVE Park re-opens, Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture will be restored and reinstalled in the same location. Joining LOVE will be Chromoscope, a new piece of public art by Haddad|Drugan that uses the Welcome Center’s ceiling as its canvas.
“The renovation of LOVE Park will make one of Philadelphia’s great public spaces even more beautiful and welcoming than ever before. This park is truly a microcosm of our City – a gathering place for people of all backgrounds and incomes, and from all neighborhoods,” Council President Clarke said. “I want to thank the former and current Administration, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Fairmount Park Conservancy, and especially the citizens, whose input was so valuable in the redesign process.”
At the conclusion of the press conference, Mayor Jim Kenney spoke on the history of LOVE Park as a skateboarding mecca and also addressed the spirited debate that has surrounded skateboarding in the park. In recognition of this history Mayor Kenny authorized skateboarding in LOVE Park until it is closed on February 15.
“I invite all skateboarders who have ever enjoyed recreating here to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Kenney. “You are a part of our community and a part of the fabric of LOVE Park.”
The Mayor also announced that the granite from LOVE Park will be donated to the Franklin’s Paine Skatepark Fund to be used in newly constructed skateparks across the city, so they will have an element of the iconic LOVE Park.