This article was produced by Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP).
Plans for a green, global logistics hub and life sciences campus find an unlikely home in Philadelphia: The former Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery was once the largest single source of pollution in the city.
The 150-year-old, 1,300-acre (526 ha) site may not immediately look like a starting point. But Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP), the industry-leading redevelopment company taking on its transformation, sees something different.
Its location, for one. Right on the Schuylkill River with easy access to the airport, highway and rail, the site would connect future tenants to a third of America in eight hours or fewer. Then there’s the world-class workforce, needed to fill the 19,000 permanent jobs that will be created there.
HRP sees the potential for cleaner air, water, and soil, as well as the chance to bring in green infrastructure and businesses. Before even announcing the new site’s new name, HRP’s decision to permanently shutter the refinery, cut Philly’s emissions by 16 percent.
And now, HRP is proud to announce The Bellwether District. A bellwether signals what’s to come. So just as a bellwether stock heralds the direction of an industry, The Bellwether District will usher in a modern economy, a new era of sustainability, and a standard of community enrichment and engagement.
To see the promise of a place takes vision. To fulfill that promise takes a holistic approach, expertise, and tenacity. Whether transforming a steel mill in Baltimore into major port that now powers 3 percent of Maryland’s GDP, or turning a coal-fired power plant in Chicago into a LEED-certified logistics center, HRP believes that championing best-in-class environmentalism, community engagement, and local economic development is the key to transforming a place from what is to what will be.
