Independence Visitor Center redo: Larger terrace, gift shop

The Independence Visitor Center plans a $15 million overhaul that will extend the outdoor terrace and enlarge the gift shop as it aims to generate more cash for operations from the city's growing tourist throng.

The renovation will be the biggest investment at Independence Mall since the early 2000's, when the center and other buildings were constructed as part of a then-new master plan for the National Park Service site.

It comes as the building's operator, the nonprofit Independence Visitor Center Corp., strives to reduce its dependence on the Park Service in an age of recurring federal budget tiffs. The Park Service contributes about $800,000 to the center's $4.2 million annual operating budget.

"My position here in leading this organization is to get us to a point where we're self-sufficient," corporation president and chief executive James Cuorato said Monday. "It removes any possibility that the appropriation might be negatively impacted in the future."

University of Pennsylvania political science professor Marc Meredith said it made sense that the center would want to become less reliant on federal funds after the government shutdown of 2013 and subsequent battles.

They "are trying to protect themselves so they have less dependence on federal revenue, on the chance that the federal government shuts down again in some looming budget battle," he said. "Relying on the appropriations process generates too much uncertainty to make plans going forward."

The center extends about two-thirds of a block north of Market Street along the western edge of Independence Mall, and has information counters, tour concessionaires, and theaters playing historical documentaries. It was completed in 2001 in a spate of building that also included the National Constitution Center and the Liberty Bell Center.

Planners want to enlarge by 50 percent the gift shop, the center's biggest moneymaker, into an area now occupied by public restrooms. The restrooms would move to a planned 2,000-square-foot addition on the Independence Mall side.

The roof of the expansion would become a second-floor deck, connecting to an existing patio on the Market Street side. The new outdoor space would help the lucrative business of hosting weddings and other events, Cuorato said.

More changes include the replacement of one of the theaters with a glassed-in screening room, and the installation of informational touchscreen monitors. The aim is to draw visitors who might only be popping in for the gift shop or a restroom into the building's interior, where the concession counters are.

"We want to sort of pull people into the building," Cuorato said.

The plan seeks to capitalize on what have been historically high levels of visitors to the Philadelphia area, as the city burnishes its reputation as a tourist draw. The region hosted 39.7 million in 2014, up 15 percent from a decade earlier, according to the most recent data from Visit Philadelphia, the city tourism-promotion agency.

So far, the center has raised $2.1 million of the planned $15 million price tag, and has applied for a $3.5 million state redevelopment grant. Remaining funds may come from foundations or corporate sponsors, Cuorato said.

The Department of the Interior, which administers Park Service property, is reviewing the project and is expected to share its thoughts on the plan in the next several weeks, said Jennifer Nagle, the corporation's vice president for business development.

No city permits are needed because the center is on federal land, she said.

Work could begin as soon as September and would take about two years, mostly occurring during off-seasons for tourism, Cuorato said.

"It really is time to bring the building up to current standards and redefine the visitor experience," he said.

jadelman@phillynews.com

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@jacobadelman