Avenue of the Arts will be undergoing a $100 million beautification project, resulting in a series of streetscape improvements starting next year that will eventually extend 10 blocks along South Broad Street from City Hall to Washington Avenue, writes Michael Tanenbaum for PhillyVoice.

The beautification project will be led by Avenue of the Arts Inc., the 31-year-old nonprofit that develops and markets the cultural district.

The first phase of the project will cover between Spruce and Pine street, outside the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. It will include new landscaping, sculptures, rotating public art and outdoor performance spaces.

“Today, the Avenue of the Arts is one of the city’s most dynamic mixed-use corridors with thousands of residents and millions of visitors each year,” Laura Burkardt, executive director of Avenue of the Arts, Inc., said in a statement. “This initiative will add ‘world-class arts city’ to Philadelphia’s renown as a hub of history and sports.”

The first phase will be completed by spring 2026 in time for Philadelphia’s celebrations for the nation’s 250th birthday. The city has pledged $1 million from its budget to help fund the beginning of the project.

The area outside the Kimmel Center will receive new banners, wayfinding signs, seating areas, and sidewalk improvements.

Read more about the Avenue of the Arts’ new beautification project at PhillyVoice.

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