Graffiti Pier to be sold by end of year, owner Conrail says

The owner of Graffiti Pier announced plans to the sell the property by the end of the year during a Monday night community meeting, a timeline supported by its prospective buyer, the Delaware River Waterfront Corp.

The decision comes after the front tip of the abandoned pier near East Cumberland and Beach Streets in Port Richmond fell into the Delaware River on July 31, throwing its future into question for the artists, ravers, and fishers who have used the property illegally for decades.

Before it was covered in overlapping tags and half-finished murals, Graffiti Pier was a coal yard for the Reading Co. Current owner Conrail took over in 1978 and ceased operations at the pier in 1995. Since then, the pier has become a hot spot for graffiti artists looking to practice and urban explorers, with the hashtag #graffitipier amassing more than 18,000 posts on Instagram.

» READ MORE: Portion of Graffiti Pier collapses into the Delaware River

During a meeting with residents of Northbank — a luxury townhouse complex next to Graffiti Pier — Conrail representatives said the company intends to sell the property and the six acres surrounding it to the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. by the end of 2024.

The waterfront corporation announced plans to turn the space into an official public art park in 2019 and has since received $2 million in federal funding to cover early construction costs. The project had all but stalled since a sale has yet to go through.

“It’s a major multimillion-dollar transaction in land, and we can’t start selling property without the approval of our board,” Conrail’s general counsel, Daniel Dwyer, told Fox 29. Dwyer said that approval is expected to come at a board meeting on Nov. 14 and that the rest of the terms would be finalized shortly afterward. Conrail did not respond to requests for comment.

“I am going to push for year-end. And others are going to push me for year-end,” Dwyer said.

Delaware River Waterfront Corp. president Joseph Forkin told The Inquirer that Conrail’s timeline was “aspirationally” possible and contingent on due diligence to “make sure that the pier is stable and viable.” A sale price has yet to be finalized.

“We would love to create a public space that preserves what Graffiti Pier means as quickly as possible,” said Forkin. “The end of the year is certainly a target” for the acquisition.

Graffiti Pier’s reputation as a free-for-all has been a double-edged sword for the City of Philadelphia, which shut the pier down briefly in 2018 over rising crime. Online records indicate that the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections has issued at least 10 violations to Conrail since 2010 over operating an unsafe pier, failing to obtain a license, or failure to submit inspections — including on July 31, the day a portion collapsed.

Forkin said he was “unaware” of any safety inspections commissioned by Conrail since the front of the pier tumbled into the river. The findings of any forthcoming safety studies could affect not just the terms of the real estate deal, but also the future of the plan for a public park, which Forkin said does not have an updated timeline.

When the waterfront corporation began planning for the project in 2019, Forkin said, he could not recall any information “that would’ve pointed to imminent collapse.”

“We have to see what effect, if any, that the partial collapse had on the rest of the structure … we have to see what conditions we’re walking into,” said Forkin.

» READ MORE: From 2019: Graffiti Pier one step closer to becoming public park after state kicks in $1 million

After the collapse, Conrail installed a wire fence around Graffiti Pier and more prominent trespassing signs. CEO Brian Gorton, however, told Fox 29 that portions of the fence are regularly cut through or taken down by people trying to access the space.

“If you’re on Graffiti Pier, you’re trespassing.” Gorton said.

The Northbank Homeowners Association — which contracts private security to guard the entry point for Graffiti Pier on East Cumberland Street — commended Conrail’s decision.

» READ MORE: ‘No trespassing’ signs have gone up at Graffiti Pier after its collapse. Philly’s street artists say they’re undeterred.

“I think Conrail felt the pressure of a community who said … ‘use it or get off of it,’” said Russ Torres, a member of the Northbank Homeowners Association. “They want to make sure this property finds its way to the community and maybe help this community become a better place.”

The pier’s regulars, meanwhile, are a bit more skeptical.

“Part of the appeal is that we’re not supposed to be here, that we’re bending the rules,” Jimmy King, a lifelong Philadelphia resident, previously told The Inquirer about slacklining and picnicking at Graffiti Pier. “It’s a place where everyone can really be themselves and do whatever they like. That’s beautiful.”