Over the course of its ongoing, $200 million redevelopment, the Park Towne Place Museum District Residences in Philadelphia has hosted hundreds of works of art in its lobbies and gallery spaces, with about 150 works in its permanent collection and more in a series of temporary exhibits. Developer Aimco Residential was inspired to create the Art Program at Park Towne given the property’s location along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, close to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Barnes Foundation, and Moore College of Art & Design.
The developer partnered with InLiquid Art + Design, a nonprofit art curator, to create the community’s displays and arrange its extensive array of regular arts programming, including artists’ talks, panels, workshops, and drawing parties. In 2016–17 alone, the community hosted four rotating art exhibits, 18 artists’ workshops, and 23 artist talks, plus a series of special events in collaboration with other local arts organizations and events. These include the Parkway 100 Centennial Celebration, Philadelphia Mural Arts, the DesignPhiladelphia festival, and Art in the Open.
The galleries and events are free to residents, and those who are artists themselves may display their work in the resident art studio. “Our art openings have grown from maybe 50 people to 300-plus people as we open them," says Patti Shwayder, senior vice president at Aimco. "Those are open to the public as well, and what’s evolved is that it really is more of a gift to the community. Our temporary exhibits are now sought after by artists in the area, and we have three buildings and giant lobbies to show these exhibits."
Before its 2018 renovation, Park Towne’s South Tower lobby and leasing center emphasized function over form, with plain lighting and no decorations or artwork. Aimco has completely redesigned the leasing lobby to promote natural light and to greet visitors with a first impression of the community’s gallery, setting the stage for the rest of their tour.
Students at Moore College of Art & Design have curated corridors on several of the community’s floors, each themed around an artistic genre and showcasing works from each artistic movement. According to Aimco, many prospective residents are drawn to particular themes, visuals, and colors in the process of choosing their apartment homes.
The amenity program also extends to the property’s exterior with a 150-foot-tall “Daddy Long Legs” installation in a designated sculpture garden and a 125-foot mural across the exterior wall of one of the residential towers, created in collaboration with Philadelphia Mural Arts.
While it’s difficult to quantify the impact of the Art Program at Park Towne on prospective leasing decisions, the developer says the property’s completed towers are consistently leased above 90% occupancy, and the fourth tower, currently undergoing renovation, is already 30% leased.
