Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront has experienced both extremes of the urban landscape. Once a vibrant strip that served as a steady revenue stream for the city’s nightlife, the waterfront became agitated by crime and corruption. Buildings collapsed and the area reverted to the deteriorated post-industrial wasteland it seemed destined to be after the construction of a post-World War II highway had separated the waterfront from its adjoining neighborhoods.

Developments in recent years, led by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation’s “Master Plan for the Central Delaware,” have accelerated the waterfront along an upward course, and the “FringeArts on the Waterfront” project is at the heart of this revitalization. In its 17th year of presenting contemporary art and changing the way art is perceived, FringeArts brings its pioneering mission to the frontier of the waterfront with its construction project. In fact, the waterfront site is mere blocks away from the office where Nick Stuccio, President & Producing Director of FringeArts, began cultivating his vision.

The new waterfront home is a multifaceted venue that is poised to infuse the waterfront and engage the surrounding community with art and culture. October 2013 marks the projected opening of the state-of-the-art theater to year-round programming. A grand opening is set to follow by summer 2014, showcasing the old pumping station’s extreme transformation.

The press around Philadelphia exudes anticipation of this new creative space. Hidden City Philadelphia, whose mission is to celebrate the power of place and inspire social action, recently detailed the progress of this immense undertaking. They spoke with Antonio Fiol-Silva of WRT, the architecture and planning firm responsible for the project, who offered some insight on the positive effects of this space and its relation to the waterfront.

“As an institution it seemed to us that FringeArts is all about blurring boundaries–extending perspectives,” says Fiol-Silva. “Physically, for the plaza and the building, this means making a connection to the outside, the plaza and beyond–to see the mind’s eye travel up the bridge piers, across the span, over the expansive water sheet of the river. No mistaking where you are–the spirit of place is always present.”

This vision of reconnecting the community to the waterfront by means of creative placemaking is the kind of progressive thinking that is quickly turning the Delaware River waterfront into the cultural hub many urban planners have been envisioning for years.

“The city is a stage,” says Fiol-Silva. “This project and FringeArts are a great metaphor for that.”