The site below is the other of the triangular plots carved by Ridge Avenue, the other being the premises of Blatt Tire. It is fenced all around, unkempt and unsightly. The PCDC hopes to acquire the site in order to address the deficiency of green space around Chinatown and Chinatown North. Ambitious plans included a proposal to close off Ridge Avenue to create a "Town Square", with potentially a link to the future Viaduct Park [7], but the pretty illustrations on paper do not change the fact that this is how the site looks like today. Estimates put the amount of vacant land and abandoned buildings to be a staggering 50% of the total land area in the Chinatown North neighborhood [7]. Clearly, the problem of vacant and unoccupied space is a big issue that needs to be addressed.
YQ also pointed out this site along Ridge Avenue, close to Carlton Street and nearer to the cluster of redevelopment projects that have spawned in the southern part of the area. The site was a proposed high-rise residential development that broke ground, but was stopped in its tracks due to strong community opposition [6]. The towering building would have drastically altered the built landscape of three-story buildings such as the Hing Wah Yuen complex. It appears that the community, with past experiences involving the Vine Street Expressway construction and the proposed Phillies stadium, is more than ready to rally together for a common cause.
