WATERSIDE LAND DEVELOPMENT, CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION AWARD
For its extraordinary leadership in transforming The Navy Yard waterfront into a dynamic engine of sustainable growth through resilient design and environmental stewardship.
The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (“PIDC”) has done extraordinary work as master developer of The Navy Yard, advancing sound water management, critical infrastructure resilience, sustainability and workforce development in the Philadelphia region.
PIDC is honored to receive the Waterside Land Development, Conservation, and Preservation Award. We are deeply grateful to the WRA for this recognition, which highlights the vision, partnership, and persistence that have transformed the Navy Yard waterfront into a vibrant, resilient, and thriving campus over the past 25+ years,” said Kate McNamara, Executive Vice President, PIDC at the Navy Yard. “From restoring and activating the waterfront to creating a dynamic hub for business, innovation, and community, the Navy Yard has become a center of jobs and opportunity, powering Philadelphia’s future while providing benefits across the city. We are proud of what has been achieved and remain committed to advancing the Navy Yard as a model for resilient urban development that benefits both people and the environment for decades to come.”
PIDC recently celebrated the 25th Anniversary of The Navy Yard. It was a quarter century ago, in 2000, when PIDC (Philadelphia’s public-private economic development corporation) acquired a 1,200-acre site along the Delaware River from the federal government and began its incredible journey of transforming a shuttered naval base into a vibrant hub for business innovation, job creation, community impact, and sustainable development. Through its leadership in planning, development, and operations, PIDC has transformed The Navy Yard into a thriving campus that now has 150 employers, over 17,000 employees, and 8 million square feet of mixed-use facilities spanning uses that include office, retail, industrial, research and development, institutional, and residential. The Navy Yard has been called “the coolest shipyard in America” and is recognized as a leading model for successfully repurposing a former military property into a thriving mixed-use community through public-private partnerships, master planning, sustainable design, and green infrastructure.
When the naval base closed at the turn of the century, PIDC stepped in with a vision to transform the site into a dynamic business campus that could create thousands of jobs, attract private investment, generate significant economic growth for the region while also creating a unique neighborhood featuring iconic parks and greenways, community spaces, and resilient green infrastructure. Among its 20 acres of parks and open spaces are The Navy Yard’s Central Green, a 5-acre park with a running track, hammock grove, bocce courts, and outdoor tables, and the Riverfront Greenway, a scenic 1-mile walking path along the Delaware River. These and other iconic green spaces are enjoyed year-round by those who work at the Navy Yard and by community members drawn to the majestic river views, innovative design, and connections to the rich naval history.
The Navy Yard is a certified arboretum and home to more than 2,000 trees, historic plantings and a range of birds and wildlife. In 2025, the Navy Yard achieved LEED Gold certification for neighborhood development and is the largest such development project in the country. Working together with development partners such as Ensemble/Mosaic (and previously with Liberty Property Trust/Synterra Partners), PIDC has shepherded an amazing rebirth of this storied historic naval base through thoughtful, innovative, sustainable and resilient design.
Today, the Navy Yard is an economic powerhouse for the Philadelphia region, with $2.8 billion in public and private investment. It is home to 150 companies across industries including biotechnology, shipbuilding, advanced manufacturing, and professional services. With the next phase of development underway, at full build-out, the 1,200-acre campus is projected to support 30,000 jobs, $6 billion in investment, and up to 8,000 residents, cementing its future as Philadelphia’s newest neighborhood. PIDC’s lead development partner, Ensemble/Mosaic has brought state-of-the-art life sciences facilities, hotel and other commercial development to The Navy Yard while also adding a key residential component with its AVE Navy Yard apartments, making it a 24/7 “Live, Work, Play, Stay” community.
The legacy of shipbuilding at The Navy Yard has also continued and is in significant expansion mode. As commercial and light industrial development took off in recent decades, PIDC continued to support the thriving shipyard and industrial district at the Navy Yard, which provided a strong source of diverse, family-sustaining jobs. Today, Hanwha Philly Shipyard, which builds a mix of commercial and government vessels, is embarking on a $5 billion plan to expand its shipyard operations at The Navy Yard. Nearby Rhoads Industries has pledged $100 million in new investments to support critical new work with the Navy, including doubling its submarine manufacturing capacity.
PIDC has created a documentary series, Legacy & Horizon: 25 Years of Transformation, to tell the story of The Navy Yard’s historic transformation through the voices of the leaders, visionaries, and community members who shaped its evolution.
PIDC’s Navy Yard Plan 2022 Update, the third plan undertaken since PIDC acquired the former naval base in 2000, builds upon the success of the past and provide a transformative roadmap for the next 20 years of growth, including new life science, commercial, retail, residential and mixed-use development. The Plan leverages the rich open spaces and continuous waterfront as key features that create a sense of place and help to shape an environment that supports health and well-being. Integrated adaptive building reuse and new construction design are used to amplify the site’s natural features to create authentic and welcoming environments. The Navy Yard is composed of six districts, each with their own identity, character and programmatic emphasis. The Plan charts a path for future growth in each of these six districts, from the Gateway District, which welcomes visitors with incredible views of the Reserve Basin and its massive Navy ships, to the Historic Core with its repurposed historic buildings and innovative new construction featuring sustainable designs and nautical themes.
The addition of residential development to the mix of commercial and industrial uses for the first time in 2025 has been a game-changer and added an important new dimension to the neighborhood. The 2022 Plan also envisions the creation of a new Waterfront District with a mixed-use neighborhood oriented toward the Delaware River and shaped around green streetscapes and functional infrastructure.
Sustainability and resiliency have been key components of PIDC’s mission in redevelopment of the former naval base. Kate McNamara, PIDC Executive Vice President, Navy Yard, has explained that “We look for innovative and industry-leading ways to incorporate those elements throughout our 1,200-acre site. Things like adaptive reuse and modernization of historic buildings, ensuring new construction projects are LEED certified, creating green spaces that are welcoming to and designed to reduce stormwater runoff, and providing equitable access to green transit options like Navy Yard buses, Indego bike share, car share, and EV chargers.”
PIDC’s work over the past quarter century on redevelopment of The Navy Yard has been nothing short of exceptional and the numbers speak volumes. Here’s an overview of some key numbers from their website:
