Historic Rehab: A Look At The Navy Yard In South Philadelphia

Jeffrey Spivak at Urbanland, the magazine of the Urban Land Institute, takes a look at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in South Philadelphia.

From a closed former military base on the south side of the city, the Navy Yard has become one of the most successful office/industrial master-planned redevelopments in U.S. history, attracting $1 billion in public and private investments since 2000, bringing in more than 150 corporate and technology-oriented companies, and becoming the workplace for some 12,000 employees.

It is home to corporate or regional headquarters ranging from U.K. pharmaceutical giant GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) to hip clothing retailer Urban Outfitters; manufacturers ranging from the Philly Shipyard shipbuilders (formerly Aker) to the snack cake–making Tasty Baking Company; technology groups ranging from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI) to Gibraltar IT support services; plus a variety of engineering firms, medical product companies, academic institutions, and small businesses.

But what really sets the Navy Yard apart from typical office/industrial parks is a sense of place unlike that to be found anywhere else in its region. Upon driving in, a visitor immediately sees magnificent and imposing navy warships—the site remains a reserve basin for retired vessels. Beyond that, there is turn-of-the-20th-century historic architecture along with suburban-style glass office buildings. There is a waterfront plus a park featuring hammocks and Ping-Pong tables. There is the ambience of an academic campus, thanks to buildings with odd shapes, large open spaces, and people walking on sidewalks.

“It’s kind of like a traditional office park, but cooler, and cooler really does matter now,” says Louise Mozingo, chair of the landscape architecture and environmental planning department at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of a 2011 book on office parks, Pastoral Capitalism: A History of Suburban Corporate Landscapes.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://urbanland.uli.org/development-business/historic-rehab-philadelphias-navy-yard/

Looking Back At 240 Years Of The U.S. Navy

The U.S. Navy offers a video that looks back at 240 years of the American naval service.

240 years ago, a group of rebels, calling themselves the Continental Congress, did the unthinkable. They approved the formation of a navy. A navy that in less than five years would help topple the mightiest empire the world had ever seen.

You can watch the video via the below link:

http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/ftrStory.asp?id=91440

Note: The above photo is of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk pulling out of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1987 after a major overhaul. I served on the Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War in 1970-1971.

You can click on the above photo to enlarge.

Threat On Philadelphia Naval facilities 'Non-Credible'

WPVI-TV in Philadelphia reports on the security alert at two naval facilities in Philadelphia.

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The all clear has been given after U.S. Naval facilities in both Northeast and South Philadelphia were evacuated due to an unspecified threat.

The evacuation was ordered around 11 a.m. at the Naval Support Activity Center in Northeast Philadelphia, located at 700 Robbins Street in the Lawndale section of the city.

At the same time, the Naval Shipyard in South Philadelphia was also being evacuated.
 

The Philadelphia Ordinance Disposal responded to the Northeast Philadelphia facility.

After about an hour, the all clear was given at both facilities.

The Navy Yard is home to many businesses unrelated to the Navy. They were not involved in the evacuation.

You can read the rest of the piece and watch the video clip via the below link:

http://6abc.com/news/us-naval-facility-in-ne-philadelphia-evacuated-due-to-threat/788007/

Note: During my many years of government service I performed security work at both the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia and the Navy depot on the other side of the city. I'd like to know more about the threat.   

Last Ride Of The Forrestal, America's First Super Carrier

Christopher P. Cavas at defensenews.com offers a piece on the sad, final ride of the decommissioned aircraft carrier Forrestal from the old Philadelphia Navy Yard in South Philadelphia.

In the frigid pre-dawn darkness of Feb. 4, tugs surrounded the venerable aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (AVT 59, ex-CV 59), long lying dormant at a pier in the old Philadelphia Navy Yard. Huge hawsers were rigged, and before sunrise, the huge Foss Marine tug Lauren Ross, assisted by four smaller tugs, began to ease the ship off the pier, away from another decommissioned flattop, the John F. Kennedy. 

The tow squared up in the Delaware River, and began a slow procession back to the sea. Numerous spectators – many were allowed into the former shipyard to watch the event – dotted the shores of the Delaware, eager to catch a last glimpse of America’s first super carrier.

The ship is bound for Brownsville, Texas, the usual death spot for Navy ships. Several thriving scrapyards line the Brownsville Ship Channel, and one of them, All-Star Metals Inc., was awarded a one-cent US Navy contract in October to break up the Forrestal. She will become the largest warship ever scrapped, anywhere, breaking the record of the Coral Sea, broken up in Baltimore, Md., in the early 1990s.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://blogs.defensenews.com/intercepts/2014/02/last-ride-of-the-forrestal/

Note: The above U.S. Navy photos were taken by Public Affairs Specialist Joseph Battista.

You can click on the photos to enlarge.

Washington Navy Yard Shooting Prompts Action At Local Military Facilites In Philadelphia

The CBS Local TV News station offers a piece on the increased security at naval bases in Philadelphia following the tragic shooting at the Washington Navy Yard.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The deadly shooting at the Washington Navy Yard has prompted action at local military facilities.

At the Naval Support Activity in Northeast Philadelphia, the security is tight and the atmosphere is solemn.

Employees tell Eyewitness News the mood inside is gloomy after learning about the shooting in Washington. Now security has increased.

It's common to see guards outside of the support center, but today, they are more equipped and more armed.

You can read the rest of the story and watch a video clip via the below link:

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/09/16/washington-navy-yard-shooting-prompts-action-at-local-military-facilities/

Note: I spent the last ten years of my more than 37 years in the Navy and the Defense Department at the Naval Support Activity in Northeast Philadelphia.

I was the administrative officer for a tenant Defense Department command located on the Navy base  and I oversaw security programs for our military and civilians employees. I also served at the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia earlier in my career.

I traveled often to Washington D.C. during my time in the Defense Department and I was a frequent visitor to the Washington Navy Yard. On my last visit there I took my daughter to see the naval museum located on the compound.

My heart goes out to the victims of the shootings and their families.