Beyond Parking: Reimagining CHOP's Grays Ferry Site for Community and Climate

I know the mayor's name has "park" in it, but this is a bit much.

TL;DR: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia plans to build a seven-story, 1,000-car garage in Grays Ferry at a cost of $50-90 million. This represents a massive missed opportunity to create a mixed-use development that could include workforce housing, community spaces, and a smaller, smarter transportation hub. While CHOP cites insurance concerns for ground-floor clinical space, there are creative alternatives that would better serve both the hospital's mission and Philadelphia's urban fabric.

CHOP recently announced plans to build a 1,005-car parking garage at 3000 Grays Ferry Avenue - a massive seven-story, 344,600-square-foot structure on a 3.2-acre site they purchased for nearly $25 million. While they've mentioned insurance concerns about putting clinical or administrative spaces on the ground floor, this project represents a profound missed opportunity for both the hospital and Philadelphia.

Let's explore how this valuable urban space could be transformed into something that better serves the community while still meeting CHOP's needs.

The Spatial Math Doesn't Add Up

A 1,000-car garage isn't just a building - it's a statement about transportation priorities. Each parking space costs roughly $50,000-$90,000 to build, meaning this garage represents a $50-90 million investment in car storage alone.

And holy heck will it be harder to undo once it’s built—so now’s the time to change course, before we get a concrete behemoth that’s going to age very, very poorly.

When we break down the spatial math, the inefficiency becomes glaring. Those 1,000 cars will move perhaps 1,200 people daily (assuming 1.2 people per vehicle on average). The same footprint, designed differently, could:

• House hundreds of families who work at CHOP or in the surrounding area

• Provide community gathering spaces and services

• Create neighborhood-serving retail

For an institution whose mission centers on children's health, it’s absurd to encourage more driving in a city already struggling with air quality challenges (CHOP info page, first line: “One in four children in West Philadelphia live with asthma.” Bruh.) and traffic safety.

Why CHOP Is Pursuing This Path

Understanding CHOP's motivation helps us address their legitimate concerns while proposing better alternatives. There are a few elements at play here keeping CHOP thinking small:

Institutional Inertia: Like other large healthcare institutions, CHOP has long planning cycles. This plan was conceived back when city politics were different (even if the science was already clear). Changing course would potentially delay their multibillion-dollar development pipeline.

Employee Expectations: Some CHOP staff are likely accustomed to driving, leading to some amount of pushback when parking is limited. Healthcare workers often work irregular hours when transit service is reduced, making parking seem essential rather than optional. (That being said, those off hours are likely when parking is easiest, so I’d argue this point is perhaps misguided)

Administrative Simplicity: From a finance management perspective, it’s more straightforward to manage a garage than serve as a landlord for residential and retail spaces.

Risk Aversion: Healthcare institutions are fundamentally risk-averse—so, they may feel less inclined to lead in this area, and instead stick to their comfort zone, transportation-wise.

Why CHOP Shouldn’t Pursue This Path

CHOP Represents Children's Health—The Garage Does Not

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has built its reputation on advancing pediatric health through cutting-edge care and research. Their proposal for a 1,000-car garage in Grays Ferry fundamentally contradicts this mission.

It’s been well established (by CHOP’s own research!) that children's health is harmed by car-centric environments. Children in car-dominated communities face higher rates of asthma from air pollution, limited independence due to unsafe streets, and fewer opportunities for physical activity. By building this parking garage, CHOP is putting down just shy of $100 million to actively worsen kids’ health in their neighborhood.

Beyond the impact to kids’ health, consider how the parking garage will even make the goal of access to CHOP worse: this seven-story structure would generate thousands of additional car trips daily through surrounding neighborhoods, binding already-gridlocked roads, making it harder for patients and ambulances to reach the hospital, and harder for everyone else to just get where they need to go. Investing in parking is ironically the least pro-car, pro-kid, or pro-CHOP choice you could make.

As a pediatric healthcare leader, CHOP has unique credibility to champion infrastructure that truly supports children's wellbeing. This massive garage does exactly the opposite.

The Alternatives Are Better for CHOP AND Philadelphia

Like I said above, CHOP's likely defaulting to a parking garage because of inertia, employee expectations, and operational simplicity. But even considering these constraints, alternative approaches would better serve both their institutional needs and Philadelphia's urban fabric.

A mixed-use development would:

Support CHOP's workforce: Healthcare worker burnout is a critical challenge. Offering affordable housing within walking, biking, or easy transit distance of CHOP facilities makes commuting a (point) breeze and makes a much more compelling case in recruiting and retaining staff.

Do better environmentally: For marketing or for the genuine good of it, CHOP would benefit from reducing their carbon footprint—and transportation emissions represent a significant portion of it. Investing in alternatives to cars nets them higher marks in sustainability and—once again—actually makes driving better for those that need to.

Do better financially: Parking garages are wildly inefficient, even just in terms of revenue generation. Where a parking garage generates parking fees (which rarely cover construction costs), a mixed-use development creates ongoing rental income. This means CHOP nets out ahead financially, all while doing the community a solid.

Strengthen community relations: Without those sweet and savory PILOTs, CHOP's status as a tax-exempt institution means they ought to come under more scrutiny for how they impact the community. From a utilitarian perspective, CHOP gets a better deal when they build something that is a win-win for them AND the city’s residents.

Institutions like CHOP get the benefits of Philly’s investments (infrastructure, people, and beyond) without having to pay directly into them. CHOP obviously also benefits Philadelphians through their medical services, but there’s no good reason to undermine it with a huge investment that’s a net-negative for everyone involved.

There are better options. The beauty of the mixed-use alternative is that it's not asking CHOP to sacrifice their core needs—it's offering a way to meet those needs more effectively while creating broader benefits.

Here's the Actual, Full Vision: why mixed use would be better…

…For Philadelphia at Large

CHOP and the like have a huge impact on Philadelphia's future. They have an obligation and an opportunity to invest in a way that helps their bottom line and Philadelphia’s.

Just as easily as CHOP can build a garage, they can instead build something that aligns with citywide goals for sustainability, equity, and livability. This means:

1. Transportation that prioritizes people over vehicles: The city simply doesn't have enough space for everyone to drive everywhere. Institutions must lead in creating alternatives that work for their staff and visitors.

2. Addressing the housing crisis through opportunity sites: With housing costs rising across the city, large land-owners have a unique opportunity to create middle-income and workforce housing that stabilizes neighborhoods.

3. Climate-resilient development: Philadelphia faces increasing climate risks, particularly flooding. New development should incorporate green stormwater infrastructure, renewable energy, and resilient design principles.

4. Institutional citizenship: Large organizations shape the city through their land use decisions. Their choices should reflect their role as permanent stakeholders in Philadelphia's future.

Rather than a standalone garage, imagine if every major institution approached development with mixed-use, transit-oriented principles. The cumulative impact would be self-reinforcing: less pollution, easier commutes, more space to enjoy.

…For Grays Ferry in General

With significant investment coming to Grays Ferry, including Pennovation Works and CHOP's expansion, the neighborhood needs development that:

1. Connects rather than divides: New projects should stitch together the neighborhood fabric, not create superblocks or traffic-generating megastructures.

2. Creates housing diversity: Grays Ferry needs a range of housing options to remain affordable for long-term residents while accommodating newcomers.

3. Improves mobility options: Enhanced transit connections, protected bike infrastructure, and pedestrian-friendly streets would serve both institutional and residential needs.

4. Provides neighborhood-serving amenities: Development should include ground-floor uses that serve daily neighborhood needs, not just institutional functions.

CHOP's can and should establish a model for institutional expansion that strengthens, rather than stresses, the surrounding neighborhood.

…For That Corner, Specifically

The 3.2-acre site at 3000 Grays Ferry Avenue deserves a vision that respects its context and maximizes its potential for all parties:

1. A multi-modal mobility hub: Instead of 1,000 parking spaces, create a transportation center with:

   • 200-300 underground or structured parking spaces

   • Enhanced bus connections with comfortable waiting areas

   • Secure bicycle storage and shower facilities

   • A hub for CHOP's shuttle network

   • Shared mobility services (bikeshare, carshare)

2. Climate-adaptive housing above: The upper floors could feature:

   • 200-300 units of workforce housing prioritizing healthcare employees

   • A mix of unit sizes accommodating families and individuals

   • Building systems designed for flood resilience

   • Shared amenities fostering community among residents

3. Activated ground floor designed for flood resilience: Elevated above the flood plain, the first floor could include:

   • A small grocery store serving both residents and neighbors (who’s going to try to cross the stroad AND the parking lot to get to the Fresh Grocer?)

   • Childcare facilities for CHOP employees and community members

   • Flexible community spaces for health education programs

   • Café and convenience retail reducing car trips

4. Integrated green infrastructure: The site could demonstrate environmental leadership through:

   • Extensive stormwater management systems

   • Solar arrays on rooftops and facades

   • Native landscaping creating habitat and beauty

   • Public spaces connecting to the neighborhood

This vision doesn't just avoid the negatives of a massive garage – it creates an asset for the city instead of a liability. It transforms what would be dead space dedicated to empty vehicles into vibrant spaces for people to live, work, and connect.

CHOP has a choice: build yesterday's solution to transportation needs, or create a forward-thinking development that truly serves children's health by creating a more sustainable, livable city. The difference isn't just architectural – it's about whether our major institutions will lead Philadelphia toward a healthier urban future or remain stuck in outdated patterns of development.

The 1,000-car garage represents the path of least resistance. But a mixed-use, transit-oriented alternative represents the path of greatest potential – for CHOP, for Grays Ferry, and for Philadelphia.

CHOP has an opportunity to demonstrate true leadership - not just in healthcare, but in creating a healthier urban environment for the communities they serve. Will they take it?

In short, this garage should really be left on the ..chopping block.