An ambitious $150 million plan is underway to revitalize a 10-block stretch of Broad Street in Center City, aiming to elevate the Avenue of the Arts into a destination comparable to Chicago's Magnificent Mile, Paris' Champs-Élysées and other iconic urban boulevards.

Organizers said the project will reimagine one of Philadelphia's most well-known corridors, turning it into a greener, more walkable space designed to celebrate arts, culture and civic life within 10 years.

"[It is] the boldest reimagining of a public space in generations," Desaree Jones, executive director of Avenue of the Arts, Inc., said.

The plan would transform South Broad Street from City Hall to Washington Avenue into a lush, 1-mile stretch featuring tree-lined sidewalks and a landscaped median filled with greenery. Existing planters would be removed and replaced with larger, more elaborate planters designed to cover subway grates and improve the streetscape.

Project leaders said the upgrades will enhance pedestrian safety, improve the visual appeal of the corridor and encourage people to spend more time along the Avenue of the Arts.

"In Philadelphia, the arts are not an accessory to civic life," Carl Dranoff, board chair of Avenue of the Arts, Inc., said. "They are essential to our civic life."

As part of the broader revitalization effort, Temple University plans to reopen Terra Hall, an academic building that was shuttered after the University of the Arts filed for bankruptcy in 2024.

"Broad Street is not just one of the great urban boulevards of Philadelphia," Temple University President John Fry said. "It is one of the greatest streets in our country, and it is also Temple's home."

Some residents welcomed the project's vision.

"I think it's a good idea because this is called the Avenue of the Arts," Center City resident Juanda Myles said.

Others expressed concerns about traffic disruptions during construction, particularly as work on the new median gets underway.

"I think the construction could upset a lot of people, especially if you're looking at 10 years," Roxanne Ortiz, from Drexel Hill, said.

Officials said the first phase of the project, covering Pine to Spruce streets, is expected to be completed this spring. Additional phases will roll out in the years ahead.