If you haven’t been to Philadephia lately, you may want to book a trip today or, better yet, move into any of the best apartments in Philadelphia! The City of Brotherly Love continues its ascent toward being one of the top U.S. destinations today in terms of innovation, technology, and creativity. Piazza Pod Park is set to become a symbol of Philadelphia’s commitment to more full, greener, and eco-friendly spaces. The outdoor, multi-purpose event center and beer garden provides something for the whole family and structures its distinct container-shaped stores and eateries in such a way as to inspire a taste for modern flair.
Launch Event
Piazza Pod Park, located 1075 Germantown Avenue, not far off the Delaware Expressway, held its grand opening event in June, to the delight of a raucous Philly crowd. The park, with its retail stores and eateries shaped like shipping-containers, offered citizens an evening of outdoor fun that catered to both children and adults. Though the launch seems to have come out of nowhere for residents of the Northern Liberties neighborhood, the project had been in development for well over a year.
A Dream Come True
Post Brothers acquired the Piazza in the Northern Liberties neighborhood more than a year ago from Kushner Companies in a bid to revive the area and inject a bit of modernism into the community. Their plan worked wonderfully. The project took about a year to complete, with the group installing fourteen retailers and several eateries in the space as well as a giant robot statue named “BeBot” by artist Andrea Greenlees. The 33-foot tall wire statue took the winning prize at Burning Man 2018, and now it is the first thing that Philly citizens will see when they enter the park.
Reviving a Neighborhood
The 21-acre Northern Liberties neighborhood has been a hipster hot spot since artists revitalized the area in the 1990s, but the Piazza Pod Park offers an entirely new reason to visit and stay. The park is located near luxury apartments and boasts stores that you likely will not see anywhere else – the type of specialty stores that you want to let others know about. The same can be said about the eateries, which include anything from bagels to French toast.
The Changing Scenes
Similar to Las Vegas’ Container Park or Austin, TX’s Zilker Park Area, these projects are meant to revitalize neighborhoods, attract tourists, and bring something a bit eco-friendlier and hipper into the landscape. The containers used to house Piazza Pod Park’s businesses would typically sit in a junkyard for years were they not used for this, since the cost of shipping them back to their place of origin is astronomical and melting them can spend as much as 8000 kWh of energy. Using these containers means conserving energy, and in a way, it is a type of recycling as well, further showing that the cities mentioned here are pushing for change.
A Family Place
With so many areas for children to play in and eateries and stores for parents to enjoy, it is easy to see that Piazza Pod Park is putting a focus on families as well. The project is just getting started, and it will likely begin to see events of all types hosted in its space, and not to mention possible expansions coming in the years to come. Residents of the nearby neighborhoods ought to be excited by all the changes the park is poised to provide.
A Bright Future
Ultimately the project has just launched, but already it is inspiring residents of Northern Liberties and beyond to see their historic city in a different light. As cities like Philadelphia usher in new changes, cities who have yet to do so will likely follow suit. Whether you are in the mood for a cold beer or want to shop for something different, there is an outdoor park in Philadelphia that has everything you’re hoping to find.