Navy Yard: Coolest Shipyard in America

The Navy Yard is a former military facility that has successful been redeveloped by PIDC. Politico named it, “The coolest shipyard in America” and many industry observers, including the Urban Land Institute, have recognized the community as a leading model for repurposing military and industrial assets for a diversified modern economy.

At PIDC, I manage two different brands, PIDC and the Navy Yard. A very common question I hear from the general public is, “What is the Navy Yard?” For those already in the know, the confusion would be elevated one step further, “The Navy Yard is an organization.” “No, it is a Navy base” “Aren’t they property managers?” When it was time for a rebrand, I knew this rhetoric needed to change. The new look and feel would need to reflect an innovative and growing community where companies and their employees are thriving. By modernizing the logo and identifying a style of photos and graphic language, we were able to to show that this was more then just a place but a destination where the urban energy feels lively and even contagious.

A few years after the rebrand launch, it was time to redesign their website. We learned through discovery and research that the things that make the Navy Yard attractive and unique (green-space, restaurants, and community events) needed to be prioritized and showcased more. So we created a website with a clear identity, clear starting point for new users and more compelling storytelling. The goal: to attract prospective business tenants, employees and everyday visitors, including those outside of the Philadelphia region. Three months after launch, we had to upgrade our hosting package to accomodate the increase in visitor traffic.