20 Things You Didn’t Know About Philadelphia’s Navy Yard District

20 Things You Didn’t Know About Philadelphia’s Navy Yard District

From M. Night Shyamalan to goldfish and dinosaurs to warships, it’s no wonder the Navy Yard is the “Coolest Shipyard in America” and home to a burgeoning life sciences sector in Philadelphia.

By Cat Thoreson
July 12, 2023

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Philadelphia. Home to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the “Rocky” statue, and its infamous cheesesteaks is also home to a growing life science footprint. With more than 56,000 life science jobs, numerous academic and research institutions, and a growing presence in both biotech R&D and biomanufacturing, it’s not surprising that CBRE’s 2023 report ranked Philadelphia as the 6th best life sciences market in the US, two spots higher than in 2022. 

Chris Frew, Chief Engagement Officer of BioBuzz, and I had the pleasure of touring Philadelphia last month with Dr. Rebecca L. Grant, Director, Life Sciences & Biotechnology Director, Life Sciences & Biotechnology for the City of Philadelphia. 

While I could write a novel on the tour in its entirety, I’ll start with one of the most surprising stops along the way, The Navy Yard. 

“The transformation of Philadelphia’s Navy Yard is a redevelopment marvel,” said Grant. “PIDC is building a community at the Navy Yard where companies and their employees can thrive. The impact this growing community has on the life sciences and biotech industries is undeniable.”

Approximately 6 miles south of UCity, the Navy Yard is a thriving riverfront community in South Philadelphia. The Navy Yard provides easy access to Philadelphia International Airport, major highway systems, and is just a 5-hour drive away from nearly a quarter of the US population.

“The Navy Yard is a diverse and dynamic campus with a long history of cutting-edge innovation across a broad array of industry sectors,” said Kate McNamara, Senior Vice President, Navy Yard.

The 1,200-acre campus boasts 20+ acres of parks and more than 6.3 miles of waterfront space and is home to 150 diverse companies, including industrial, commercial, manufacturing, retail firms, as well as U.S. Navy commands. 

Navy Yard-based companies support more than 15,000 accessible jobs across the educational spectrum – from those with GEDs to PHDs – and represent a variety of sectors and industries, in fields as diverse as shipbuilding and repair, aircraft production, robotics, health care, chemical and materials R&D, retail, logistics and advanced life sciences. 

“Experts at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard are advancing therapeutic discoveries and cures while expanding skills-based job training opportunities for Philadelphians of all ages” Grant concluded. “The Navy Yard is integral not only to Philadelphia’s ecosystem, but also to our global life sciences innovation through precision medicine, biomanufacturing, research and development.”

One of the most successful redevelopment projects in US history, the Navy Yard has a rich history, an incredible story, and, of course, some fun facts. Here are the 20 things you should know about the Navy Yard: 

History 

1. Philadelphia is the birthplace of the U.S. Navy and the Navy Yard is the birthplace of naval aviation (1940s/WWII).
2. The Navy Yard was built on what was once an island just off the southern tip of Philadelphia. Quarters A, the oldest building at the Navy Yard, was built in 1874 by the civil engineer in charge of overseeing the initial development of the Navy Yard.
3. At its peak during WWII, nearly 50,000 people were employed at the Navy Yard where 53 warships were constructed and 1,218 were repaired.
4. The freshwater Reserve Basin at the Navy Yard is now home to recently decommissioned ships and some of the Navy’s Reserve Fleet. The USS JFK is still docked at the Navy Yard.
5. In 2000, the Navy Yard was acquired by PIDC, a public-private economic development corporation, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia. In 2004, the first redevelopment plan was unveiled. 2004 also marks the establishment of a life sciences hub with the opening of WuXi AppTec, the first new development on campus since the 1940s. 
6. To date, there have been more than $1.7B of public & private investment at the Navy Yard with another $6B planned in the next 15-20 years through the partnership with PIDC and Ensemble/Mosaic.

Established Life Sciences Hub

7. The Navy Yard is an established and growing life sciences ecosystem with lab, CGMP, and CDMO facilities. Adaptimmune, Coriell Life Sciences, Iovance Bio Therapeutics, VintaBio, and Wuxi Advanced Therapies currently call the Navy Yard home. 
8. The 2022 Navy Yard Plan has a 50-acre planned life sciences community (1.5M sf of planned life science manufacturing, 2.8M sf of planned office and lab space). It provides an unparalleled opportunity in Philadelphia for large-footprint commercial development attractive to life science and advanced manufacturing users. 
9. PIDC and Ensemble/Mosaic are partnering for the next 15-20 years of development at the Navy Yard, which includes $6B in total investment, more than 12,000 new full-time jobs, an estimated $8.1B of direct economic impact to PA and $14.3 total direct and indirect economic impact to PA. 

Fun Facts 

10. POLITICO Magazine named the Navy Yard “The Coolest Shipyard in America.” 
11. At one point, the world’s largest industrial crane (350 tons) was located at the Navy Yard. 
12. Dozens of “wild” overgrown goldfish live in the flooded basement of an abandoned building known as the Navy Yard Goldfish Pond.
13. The Navy Yard’s eclectic buildings have been used in many movies and TV shows – M. Night Shyamalan has used Navy Yard buildings in several of his movies. 
14. The Navy Yard is a Level 1 arboretum, one of only six arboretums in Philadelphia.
15. The Navy Yard hosts 100s of community-based events a year bringing in more than 100,000 visitors annually. 
16. For the last six years, the Navy Yard has worked with an anonymous art collaborative to bring unique public art installations to campus. Today, you’ll find a beautiful, life-sized Parasaurolophus dinosaur skeleton symbolizing a bridge between two Indigenous Nations. The beaded design of the structure tells stories from the region’s original people.

Sustainability & Resiliency 

17. The commitment to sustainability and resiliency has made the Navy Yard one of the coolest and most successful commercial redevelopments of an old military installation in the country. The Navy Yard is powered by a 44-megawatt unregulated electric grid, which makes it one of the largest unregulated electric distribution systems on the East Coast. 
18. There are more than 1,200 solar panels in the community solar power system that allows companies at the Navy Yard the opportunity to share the benefits of solar power without installing panels on their own property. 
19. In total, 85% of existing buildings are LEED-certified buildings, including Philadelphia’s first developer-owned LEED Platinum building built in 2005 (One Crescent Drive) and Philadelphia’s first double LEED Platinum building built in 2013 (Five Crescent Drive). Notably, Ensemble & Ensemble/Mosaic own 13 LEED-certified buildings on the Navy Yard campus. 
20. Future development will pursue Philadelphia’s first LEED Gold Neighborhood Development of Scale, a program that creates more sustainable, well-connected neighborhoods, looking beyond the scale of buildings to consider entire communities.