On a long enough timeline–years, decades, centuries–nothing in a city’s landscape remains the same. Buildings rise and fall, as do neighborhoods. From prosperous, to diminished, and then back again. The hope in Kingsessing is that renewal is in the cards and soon.

Any Philadelphian can rattle off a list of troubled neighborhoods in the city. Statistically speaking, this southwest neighborhood qualifies. Poverty rates in many Census tracts there run higher than the already-troubling citywide average of 23 percent, some exceeding 40 and 50 percent. Vacancy rates are as high as one-in-five homes. Parts of the neighborhood are no stranger to gun violence.

Compounding the problem is Kingsessing’s disconnectedness from Center City. That is both literal–a lack of convenient walking, biking, and transit options double or triple commute times to Center City compared to West and North Philadelphia communities the same distance away–and figuratively, as residents of the area routinely decry a lack of political attention from within the confines of City Hall.

But is this whole mode of operation set to change? In May, the Environmental Protection Agency held a news conference along the banks of the Schuylkill River to announce $2 million in funding to cleanup an old contaminated oil transfer site in Kingsessing, which would clear the way for a proposed extension of the Schuylkill River Trail, construction of an adjacent rest station, and completion of a planned biotech campus nearby.

Peer a little closer at the picture and more promising developments pop out: the now-underway $250 million renovation of the nearby Bartram Village public housing development, a proposed effort by SEPTA to upgrade the area’s trolley service, and a bevy of new recreational programs at the nearby Bartram’s Garden. And of course, the granddaddy of them all: a $4 billion overhaul of the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery just across the river from the neighborhood by developer Hilco Redevelopment Partners.

Squint, and it sure looks like the kind of transformations envisioned in a Lower Schuylkill Master Plan, developed by the City along with public and private partners a decade ago: more jobs in modern industries, better transit, greener environs. In short, a major elevation of the quality of life for many residents of Kingsessing.

In fact, for Councilmember Jame Gauthier, who was raised in Kingsessing and represents the 3rd District, a significant transformation of the area at this point looks like a given. “The culmination of all of the public and private development is absolutely transformative. There’s no doubt about that,” Gauthier said. “It will ensure that the Southwest will go from this area that really has been ignored over time to a major economic center, a major area for recreation, a major area for transit, and a nicer place to live.” The challenge is in implementation, she added, and perhaps most pressingly, is determining who will benefit. “The question now is, how can we complete all these major projects, and who are we centering?” said Gauthier.

One of Philadelphia’s Oldest Communities

“Firsts” can be relative, but no matter how you slice it, Kingsessing has some pretty good historical claims.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the earliest known date of Indigenous inhabitation of the greater region can be traced to 8500 B.C., near Harrisburg. At some point in the millenia after, humankind reached what is now the Philadelphia area. Evidence has shown that the area of Bartram’s Garden was used as a hunting ground or gathering place sometime between 3000 B.C. and 1500 A.D.

By the time of European arrival, the area was part of Lenapehoking, the territory of the Lenape. It was they who named the area of what is now Southwest Philadelphia Kingsessing, or more accurately Chincessing, which translated to “bog meadow” or “place of the big shells.” 

Then came the Swedes, who served as the first European settlers of the area in the 17th century. They indeed made the first permanent colonial settlement in what is now Pennsylvania, when in 1643, Swedish Lieutenant-Colonel Johan Printz constructed a fort and buildings on Tinicum Island, which is now part of Delaware County. Two years later, in 1645, a settlement was established in Philadelphia proper, in Kingsessing, where the Swedes also built the area’s first grist mill on Cobbs Creek.

According to a history of the neighborhood posted on Bartram’s Garden’s website, “Many of the colony’s freedmen lived in Kingsessing, which today has maintained its name and a similar location along the southwest bank of the Schuylkill River.” William Penn wouldn’t make his landing in that other part of modern day Philadelphia until 1682.

Of course, much of Kingsessing wouldn’t see heavy urbanization until much later. According to a history compiled by Center City-based design firm WRT, the Kingsessing area remained largely rural during the British colonial era through to the late 1800s. In 1728, John Bartram purchased a tract along the river’s west banks and established the nation’s first botanical gardens, drawing visitors such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. Much of the surrounding area became devoted to similar country estates or farmland, including Andrew Hamilton’s Woodlands estate.

In the late 19th century, the area finally began to industrialize along with many U.S. cities, particularly along waterways. Estates in Kingsessing were subdivided for industrial and residential uses, especially as the electric streetcar arrived in 1894 and improved commute times to other areas of the city.

“[The area] soon became home to heavy industry including oil refining, manufacturing, distribution, and waste management,” the WRT report states. “As the riverfront slowly changed from green to industrial, waves of Irish, German, Lithuanian, Polish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants settled nearby, forming a thriving working-class neighborhood.”

Of course, that would all give way to a downturn that plagued cities across the country: a post-World War II hollowing out of urban industries, white flight, and all around disinvestment. Perhaps nowhere was more symbolic of the change than at Bartram Village, a collection of residences purpose-built to house workers in the defense industry as World War II raged, which were then sold to the Philadelphia Housing Authority in 1958 for use as public housing in a Census tract where the poverty rate is now 52 percent.

Fresh Prince, Fresh Hope

On July 23, 2006, the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer offered that “for a brief moment” the day before, “the violence that grips residents in the Kingsessing section of Southwest Philadelphia became a backdrop.” On that day, native son Will Smith had returned to lead a march against violence down Chester Avenue, drawing a crowd of several hundred people, many of whom wore white for peace. “Will the parade help?” one 72-year-old resident, Josephine Blow, mused to a reporter. “I don’t really know.”

Indeed, in 2002, then-mayor John Street had certified a 40-acre area of Kingsessing blighted in order to open the door for redevelopment, an action which appeared to have little impact in the years after. Then, in 2019, a massive explosion and fire at the 1,300-acre Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery across the Schuylkill shuttered the facility, which first became operational in the mid-1800s. It looked like things couldn’t get much worse for this stretch of Schuylkill River.

Yet, like a forest that requires a wildfire in order to start anew, the winds of change are now blowing. Following the closure of PES, Hilco stepped in to propose a massive redevelopment of the land, which it is now calling the Bellwether District. According to Amelia Chassé Alcivar, executive vice president of corporate affairs for Hilco, the vision is to attract modern industries, providing an estimated 19,000 permanent jobs in the area, ten-fold what PES had provided prior to its closure. “Divided into a 750-acre logistics campus and 250-acre innovation campus, the project is poised to strengthen Philadelphia’s position as a life science and innovation hub, while also bringing supply chain logistics, manufacturing, cold storage, port, and rail uses,” Chassé Alcivar said.

After clearing the land of the former refinery’s massive footprint, Chassé Alcivar said Hilco began vertical construction of the logistics campus this spring, with construction completed on the first buildings expected by the end of the year.

Across the river in Kingsessing proper, promises of newer, better jobs are also being made. The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) is developing a Lower Schuylkill Biotech Campus, which it envisions as an “opportunity for development partners to cultivate a world-class urban campus for modern cell and gene therapy bioproduction,” in line with Philadelphia’s booming life sciences sector. Renderings show sleek modern office buildings on a pair of 20-acre campuses immediately north and south of Bartram’s Garden.

Kevin Lessard, senior vice president for communications and government affairs for PIDC, did not offer an anticipated timeline for development. However, in an email he confirmed PIDC has acquired the necessary parcels and is working “diligently” to prepare the now-vacant land for development, including remediation of environmental issues in the soil and groundwater and “enhancing existing infrastructure” in the area. “This project provides long-overdue investments in a predominantly African-American community that has not received adequate investment or resources and where heavy industrial uses in the area have contributed to substantial environmental justice issues,” Lessard said.

Trails and Trolleys

Better places to work are always great, but what about play? One of the most exciting developments for riverfront recreationists in the city is the planned opening of a new swing bridge across the Schuylkill River, connecting Gray’s Ferry and the Bartram area, just south of the Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge. Although the project was delayed as the new bridge truss was being fabricated, the Schuylkill River Development Corporation states it is now slated to open in mid-2025.

Patrick Monahan, regional organizer with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, said the bridge will provide a crucial link in extending the Schuylkill River Trail to a final stretch in Southwest Philadelphia before ultimately terminating at Fort Mifflin. However, the bridge should also prove a useful link for more mundane uses, connecting residents of Kingsessing not only with all of the recreational opportunities along the Schuylkill Banks, but enabling biking as a feasible option to commute to Center City. “I live in West Philly and to reach [the SRT in Center City], I would have to go down 47th Street and hit Grays Ferry Bridge. That does have a separated bike lane, but once you get spit out onto Grays Ferry heading east, it’s quite a nightmare,” said Monahan. “To have this off-road connection would be really critical for residents in West Philadelphia area. Once it opens I know it’ll be highly utilized.”

Bartram’s Garden has plans to further leverage the new connection, with a planned welcome center along the trail just south of the new bridge. Plans are early and full funding not yet secured, but executive director Maitreyi Roy envisions a place for riders to both relax and learn more about what the community has to offer. “We felt that once people crossed over to the west side toward the garden, it made sense for us to welcome people. As a trail user for the first time, you might not know where you are,” Roy explained. “It’ll be a place for a rest stop, to fill up your bottle with water, maybe get a cup of coffee, but also get maps and some orientation to the west side of the trail, the garden, and further down on the trail.”

Elsewhere in the park, Bartram’s Garden continues its push to get more Philadelphians from surrounding neighborhoods fishing, kayaking, and gardening along the river. To further support that mission are other major capital projects, including a new education center and mussel hatchery and a FloatLab classroom that enables visitors to step out onto the water at eye level and learn about the area’s ecosystem and history. Nearby, the Southwest Philly Concrete Cowboys are also planning the development of a new stable.

For those not down with getting around via bike or horseback, SEPTA is also planning a major renovation of Kingsessing’s trolley lines with the Route 36 line, which runs from Island Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia up Lindbergh Avenue and into Center City, getting particular love. SEPTA communication officials did not respond to requests for comment on proposed enhancements, but the PIDC’s Lessard filled in some of the details. “PIDC played a critical role in helping SEPTA secure $25 million in federal RAISE grant funding for Route 36 trolley modernization and Complete Streets investments that will improve safety and the travel experience for all road users, including transit riders, pedestrians, and cyclists,” Lessard said. “Placemaking elements like murals, artistic lighting, seating, and other streetscape improvements will also be part of the project. Route 36 will be the first in SEPTA’s system to have new, ADA-compliant trolleys and trolley stops.”

The Big Picture

Together, all of the planned improvements along Kingsessing’s waterfront look a lot like the fruition of the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan, which was finalized in 2013. The ongoing $250 million redevelopment of Bartram Village will provide better housing and retail options for some of the area’s most vulnerable residents, while also working to offer job training. Then, quality jobs in modern industries will open up in the new life sciences and logistics hubs at the Biotech Campus and across the river in the Bellwether District.

Connecting it all will be better public transit via the trolley and a new bike-to-work opportunity via the swing bridge. That corridor will double as a recreational wonderland, enabling residents of Southwest Philadelphia with seamless access to Center City’s Schuylkill River waterfront, and residents of Center City to new recreational opportunities at Bartram’s Garden and beyond.

On paper, it’s an exciting transformation that appears poised to provide the most significant uplift in Kingsessing in generations, but, as always, the devil is in the details. Both Hilco and the PIDC say jobs generated in the areas will be occupied by current community residents, enabling them to stay and enjoy the newly established amenities of their neighborhood.

Gauthier said she’ll be watching. “My office has been pretty focused on making sure public sector agencies–SEPTA, PIDC, Streets, the Housing Authority–making sure all of these stakeholders are working together and working with the community, centering the community, asking them what they need,” Gauthier explained. “We know the risks. It’s what we’ve seen in other places, that neighborhoods become places that are not for the people living there and stewarding those neighborhoods through good times and bad times. People get displaced when [we make] investments only with an eye to who is coming, rather than who is here.”

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