PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia officials on Tuesday unveiled major changes to plans for the abandoned Family Court building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway — and for the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) that had been slated to take it over.
Officials called a press conference to introduce the development team for the Family Court revamp, National/Frontier — a joint venture between National Real Estate Development, LLC and Frontier Development & Hospitality Group — a year after announcing that the long-vacant Beaux Arts-style twin and neighbor of the Free Library building would be used as the new home for the AAMP. They hailed AAMP’s move from 7th and Race streets as befitting its importance to the city’s cultural fabric.
But renderings provided by the team show the museum will go in a striking modern building that will be newly constructed behind the Free Library — not quite on the Parkway.
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The former Family Court building will become a boutique hotel, a pre-pandemic plan that has been revived. A Children and Family center for the Free Library will also be built next to the new museum building.
Museum board chair Sabrina Brooks says the location and design are right for its mission. “AAMP is excited to have a new state-of-the-art building dedicated to fulfilling our vision and mission of celebrating African-Americans and the Black experience and diverse audiences,” she said. “We envision AAMP to be a world-class destination, while also serving as a pillar to the communities that we all call home.”
The renderings show a five-story building sheathed in diagonal metal bars. Brooks said it would include space for the collection, special exhibits and educational programs. The project is expected to cost $50 million and take five years to complete. There are no plans yet for the Museum’s current Old City home.
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