New land acquired for planned improvements to the Delaware River trail

In recent years, there has been a lot happening along the Delaware River with plans for expansion of the river trail and work on the new Pier 68 park.

Now this project to improve the riverfront is close to moving forward now that the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. has acquired another section of land, in addition to another deal in the works to purchase a parcel of land from Bart Blatstein. These new acquisitions would mean another 0.7 mile portion of the river trail that would be improved as as part of the bigger plans to have this 3.3 mile trail renewed and expanded all the way north to Fishtown.

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On the Delaware, the DRWC plans a trail that would replace a temporary asphalt lane bounded by a rusty chain-link fence through weedy lots.

The trail would be landscaped by RBA Group, which designed the Hudson River Valley Greenway Link in New York City. The project would rely on city and state funds and a grant by the William Penn Foundation, said Corcoran, who declined to disclose a budget for the work.

The recent transaction with Maryland-based K4 – which acquired the 18-acre site from Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 in March – closed on Aug. 24, the DRWC said. The nonprofit used an $850,000 state grant administered through the Natural Lands Trust to acquire the site from the developer.

The DRWC has secured another $850,000 state grant for the Blatstein-owned property, a 14-acre site where developers previously attempted to build a Foxwoods casino, Corcoran said.