Over 250 regional business professionals gathered last week at Urban Outfitters, Inc. in the Navy Yard for the Chamber’s “Regional Spotlight: Inside the Navy Yard” event. The program, which is part of the new, four-part Regional Spotlight series, examined the economic impact of the Navy Yard’s revitalization project and explored the unique industries that are emerging along the waterfront.

The program featured a Yorn-enabled panel discussion with Henry C. Foley, Executive Director, Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster, Vice President for Research, The Pennsylvania State University; John S. Gattuso, Senior Vice President and Regional Director, Urban and National Region, Liberty Property Trust; John Grady, President, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation; and Patricia C. Woody, Department Head, Machinery Research and Engineering, Carderock Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center. The discussion was moderated by Tracey Matisak, WHYY Host.

Yorn is a program that allows attendees the opportunity to interact with the speakers through posting real-time comments during a program or event. Throughout this program, audience members visited yorn.com/gpcc on their mobile devices to submit questions to the panelists and rate their experience.

The following questions were submitted by audience members through Yorn both during and after the program. Following the program, the panelists took time to respond to the remaining questions.

Q: What does the future of the Navy Yard look like? How much more growth and job creation can we expect?

A: (John Grady) We think over the long term, the Navy Yard should support 20,000-30,000 jobs.

Q: Why is the campus atmosphere important to research and development efforts by the Navy? How closely do you collaborate with defense contractors also located at the Navy Yard?

A: (Patricia C. Woody) The campus atmosphere is important because of the proximity to some of the greatest engineering universities in the country. Within a 25-mile radius, we have Penn, Drexel, Temple, Villanova, Delaware, Rowan, etc. Researchers and the Navy’s research dollars are typically “shared” with academia. We have strengthened our ties with the local universities since we have had research as part of our mission. Furthermore, we are actively engaged with GPIC and BFTP. BFTP utilizes us to review and collaborate with some of their innovative projects.

We collaborate with 100% of the defense contractors. As a matter of fact, I would say that the defense contractors are located at the Navy Yard because of us.

A: (Grady) The quality of the environment, including the parks and open space, the historic and attractive new buildings, trails along the river, bike paths and the growing on-site amenities like food and beverage options create a really unique environment that help us attract and retain workers.

Q: How does the mix of organizations locating and growing at the Navy Yard differ from the rest of the Greater Philadelphia region’s economy? Is there any intentional planning now or going forward to develop the Navy Yard as a regional hub for energy efficiency?

A: (Grady) As you would expect, in general the mix is very similar to the existing economy that we see in the city and regional economies.  We might have more industrial activity as a percentage given our asset base, and we are certainly putting an emphasis on building an engineering and physical sciences community here.  As you may know, the Navy Yard was selected by the Department of Energy as the location for their national hub for energy-efficient buildings.  As that effort ramps up, we will see some specific efforts aimed at growing that research partnership and using it as a magnet to attract more research, engineering, manufacturing and commercialization of energy efficiency.  We also expect to see The Navy Yard emerge as a national test bed for a number of different energy activities, including energy efficient buildings and smart grids. 

Q: PIDC just received funding through a new Small Business Administration program to provide financing to start-ups and small firms. What is the plan for this money?

A: (Grady) These resources will be used to expand our traditional small business lending efforts to companies located throughout Philadelphia.

Q: Are there any manufacturing sectors or specific companies showing potential for growth in the near future?

A: (Grady) The manufacturing growth we see is generally clustered around two areas—traditional manufacturing sectors where Philadelphia has strength (like food processing, textiles and logistics) and some emerging areas around niche, high-value processes.  In 2010, PIDC published an industrial strategy for Philadelphia, a copy of which can be downloaded from our website at www.pidc-pa.org.

Q: Is the naval yard on track for its master plan and when will we see residential development?

A: (Grady) We are probably ahead of the pace established in our Master Plan.  We would hope to add a residential component in the next 2-5 years, pending required legal approvals from the US Navy. 

Q: Is it really realistic that the subway would come all the way to Navy Yard? What would it take?

A: (Grady) Sure, it is about .75 of a mile for the subway to reach the Navy Yard and then maybe .25 – .50 of a mile to extend into the property for a station.  We have completed a detailed engineering analysis that estimates the cost at approximately $350 million.  A key factor is the fact that the public already owns all of the right-of way-necessary to facilitate the extension.  The study can be downloaded from PIDC’s website at www.pidc-pa.org.

Q: The Navy Yard seems like the ideal destination for a creative community. What incentives for the arts community and housing can be offered to grow a cluster?

A: (Grady) We’ve focused on attracting companies that respond to the quality environment and existing base of businesses that are at The Navy Yard and many of these tend to be employing younger, creative employees.  Urban Outfitters is a good example.  A number of tax abatement and financing programs exist to assist these businesses with the investment and expansion plans.

Q: With the industrial development in the Navy Yard so strong, do you believe there is a future for commercial development in the region? In particular, retail and restaurants circled around a marina district?

A: (Grady) Our Master Plan very much anticipates that, with amenity development (convenience retail, restaurants, etc.) located in the central portion of the site and office, and industrial and R&D activity surrounding it.

Q: What percentage of the current Navy Yard is consumed by the Navy now and what is the future of plans for design and development of Naval operations?

A: (Woody) The Navy is located in four or five primary areas on the Navy Yard property. NAVSSES is located along Broad Street in one of the historic buildings (4) and in a cluster of buildings across from the Marine Parade Grounds (primarily 29 and 633). In addition, we occupy Bldg. 1000 adjacent to Urban Outfitters across from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Propeller Foundry. Our final cluster of buildings is along the water on the east side of the property in Buildings 77L, 77H and 87.

In addition to the propeller foundry, the Navy has responsibility for Inactive Ships which of course are in the reserve basin. We have a large storage facility in the northwest side of the Navy Yard property (bldg. 542). The Navy retains some pier space as well for aircraft carriers.

The Navy will not have any additional large expansion outside of the footprint that the Navy retained following BRAC and the closure of the PNSY. However our expansion within our buildings is always ongoing. We will be building a test site in Bldg. 633 that will test the propulsion system for the next class of Ohio submarines. This is a great project that will infuse a lot of money into the region.

A: (Grady) Overall, the Navy occupies about 2 million of the more than 6 million SF on the campus and they employee about 2500 of the 10,000 employees.

View photos from this event.

The additional three programs in the Regional Spotlight series will visit a key area in the Greater Philadelphia region and will feature top business leaders, economic developers and/or local officials who will discuss their involvement in our region’s leading initiatives. In addition, Select Greater Philadelphia will provide an update on its latest economic development and public policy efforts.

The next program will be held on Tuesday, December 6 at The Merion in Cinnaminson, NJ and will focus on successful healthcare partnerships. View more information or register for this event here.