Developer sought for Rivage site along Kelly Drive
The former Rivage catering hall site in East Falls is officially available again to potential developers, as the city Redevelopment Authority seeks new plans for a mixed-use project on the Schuylkill riverfront.
A request for proposals opened on July 1, seeking plans for a commercial-residential project at the vacant 1.7-acre property at 4324 Ridge Ave., at Calumet Street. Submissions are due Oct. 3, with a targeted date of Oct. 31 for the selection of a developer.
According to the RFP, the city sees the two-parcel Rivage site as a gateway to the East Falls urban village, and an ideal plan will include “green” building techniques, create street-level storefronts and on-street parking along Ridge Avenue. It cannot include drive-through uses, and no curb cuts are allowed on the Kelly Drive side.
Calumet Street “should provide a seamless pedestrian connection from Kelly Drive and the Falls Bridge to the Ridge Avenue Commercial District,” the documents say, and developers are encouraged to create a “special” space, such as a corridor of trees or plaza, that draws people into the neighborhood from nearby river trails.
This isn’t the city’s first run at revamping the site. A previous deal in 2007 that would have created a 173-unit residential complex with 10,000 square feet of retail foundered. In the latest round, a pre-submission conference for interested developers will take place at the Rivage property on at 10 a.m. July 22.
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