Venice Island to Make Public Debut Tuesday

It’s a day that the people of Manayunk, and all of Philadelphia, have been awaiting for a years.

On Tuesday, after years of hard work and collaboration between the Philadelphia Water Department, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and the Manayunk community, Venice Island will make its debut.

The official opening and ribbon cutting will happen at 11 a.m. at 1 Cotton St., Manayunk. Mayor Michael Nutter and other city officials will be on hand to celebrate the occasion.

The $46 million project, located between the Manayunk Canal and the Schuylkill River, features the Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center, plus a four million gallon Philadelphia Water Department storage basin unit. The project also includes green storm water infrastructure, including tree trenches, a pump house with a green roof and a subsurface basin that can temporarily store diverted flow from the sanitary interceptor sewer.

Tuesday’s grand opening will include musical entertainment, tours of the green infrastructure projects, performances at the Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center and art installations on display.

“The project not only protects and improves the health of the Schuylkill River, but also includes a full-scale reconstruction of the recreational facilities and community amenities, including a new state-of-the-art recreation and performing arts facility, new athletic fields, a children’s play area and spray park and a new parking lot,” according to a description by the Philadelphia Water Department.

(Image: An artist‘s rendering of Venice Island in Manayunk)