Chinatown Stitch has lost federal funding. Here's what's next.
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Chinatown Friendship Gate in Philadelphia. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Philadelphia leaders officially learned this week what they'd feared for months: Federal funding for the $207 million Chinatown Stitch project is gone — and now they're charting a new path forward.
Why it matters: It's a huge blow for Chinatown, jeopardizing the future of a decades-long push to cap the Vine Street Expressway that cuts through the neighborhood.
State of play: State and local officials are back to "grant shopping" to fund the project, John Chin, executive director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC), tells Axios.
- The already-funded preliminary phase — including finalizing a design — will continue while stakeholders search for new funding to begin construction in 2027, City Councilmember Mark Squilla tells Axios.
Zoom in: The latest design, unveiled during this week's Art Commission meeting, includes a capped lush park between 10th and 12th streets.
- It would have landscaped pathways, a playground, statues, garden terraces, a plaza with a shaded pavilion and a stream.
- City officials will continue to make tweaks to the plan based on community feedback.
By the numbers: The project lost $150.5 million in federal funding after cuts from President Trump's recently passed "big, beautiful bill."
- The project had already secured an initial $8.4 million in federal funds, which remains available.
What they're saying: The U.S. Department of Transportation has "cut any remaining unobligated balances" for the Stitch project, a spokesperson for the Federal Highway Administration tells Axios.
Context: Philadelphia leaders were in limbo for weeks about whether the Chinatown Stitch project had been defunded after Congress passed Trump's bill.
- Confusion ramped up when Sen. John Fetterman's office announced the Trump administration was releasing more than $1 billion for dozens of infrastructure projects across the state.
- But the Stitch didn't appear among the projects on the list.
What we're watching: Chin says other federal or state grants are possible, or a philanthropic group could swoop in to rescue the project.
Reality check: Those scenarios are long shots, meaning construction will likely be delayed.
- City officials are holding off on having any conversations with Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration about the project while it navigates SEPTA's funding crisis, Squilla says.
The bottom line: The goal is to have the project "shovel-ready" for when new funding is found, but Squilla says it seems likely the lobbying effort will resume next year.