Reconstruction begins on north side of Philly’s City Hall

The north side of the apron around Philadelphia City Hall will be closed to the public for the summer as the city spruces up the area.

In the wake of the Dilworth Park reconstruction, the north apron’s concrete appeared even more shabby than before the project, said Mark McDonald, Mayor Michael Nutter’s  spokesman. So, the city has decided to fix it.

“It will not be quite as ornate as the Dilworth Park section is,” McDonald said. “There are two phases to this project, and it totals about $1.7 million, possibly a little bit more.”

McDonald says the north entrance to the City Hall courtyard will also get an upgrade in addition to the new concrete.

“We plan to reset the steps that lead up to the courtyard, there will also be work with planters in the area, you’ll see in the coming weeks a pretty significant amount of floral arrangement and that sort of thing,” McDonald said.

The initial work is scheduled to be finished before the papal visit in late September.