September 08, 2017
A delayed overhaul to LOVE Park should be just about completed before the year is out, according to a report.
Curbed Philly reported Friday that the city plans to open the park by late November, in time to hold the annual Christmas Village there.
A spokesperson for the city's Parks and Recreation Department told the site that the park will be "95 percent complete" by November, and that officials plan to hold a grand opening in the spring.
The welcome center there is also set to reopen by then after a $700,000 renovation.
The $16.5 million project to redesign and renovate the park has been pushed back several months.
Contributed /Hargreaves AssociatesRendering of redesigned Love Park/JFK Plaza from Parkway.
As crews started demolition work in February 2016, they unearthed a "mystery box" of brick and stone structures that city officials didn't know were there, Billy Penn reported in the spring.
Designs show an emphasis on trees, open space and a large fountain. The iconic LOVE sculpture, which received its own renovation during the work, will be reinstalled in its original perch at the park, officials said.
Contributed Art/Hargreaves Associates Plan for JFK Plaza/LOVE Park.
LOVE Park opened in 1965 as a plaza atop the underground parking garage at 15th Street and JFK Boulevard. It expanded in 1969 to include a fountain and granite steps, and the sculpture was added in 1976.
Read more at Curbed Philly.
