That Irish betting website Paddy Power used to have Atlanta winning the Amazon bid at 3/1 odds, now they have Northern Virginia at 5/2. Oddly enough though, they only have a small handful of cities (or regions) on there:

Northern Virginia: 5/2
Montgomery County: 16/1
Raleigh: 20/1
Nashville: 22/1
Newark: 33/1
Columbus: 33/1
Indianapolis: 33/1

Quite a strange list IMO, obviously they've heard word that the DC metro is the leading contender, but they no longer have Philly, Atlanta, Boston, or NYC (among numerous others) on the list - the 3 former being very serious candidates in my eyes.

I don't think an Irish betting website has special insight, but I do wonder how they chose this list.

Montgomery county? :???:

The DC suburb in MD

https://www.google.com/amp/www.phill...lty-trust/amp/

Nothing new here but the video has some good looks

^
Selling a dream. What employer(s) is going to make that a reality. It's hard enough to forecast how business will do 12 months in advance, let alone forecast changes to Philly in the next 25 years. Meds/eds is boring and stodgy. If we can inject a new industry/sector of mass scale to SY, then there's hope that these buildings will get built. 30th street station needs serious upgrading, so hopefully that will happen will public funds. 30th street station with REAL high speed rail to DC, NYC, Boston will be the catalyst and impetus for significant development to SY. I hope the stars line up in 5-7 and not 20-25 years. That's just a ridiculous forecast and kinda of a pipe dream.

So 30th st is currently being renovated as part of the 30th St District plan.
I'm pretty sure, though, when he said "the next 20 years ahead," he's referring to the fact that hopefully, in 20-25 years SY will be a staple of the area, full of bustle, commerce, and city life. The plan is still to crank it out over the next decade, with the first building apparently breaking ground this year in 3003 JFK.

I have to disagree with this one. Not only is it a dynamic, growing industry (one that is essential to Philly’s future), but it is also one of the industries seeing the biggest investment of VC dollars overall. Some of the most ground-breaking research in the area is happening right here. If Philly can tap into this pipeline at the scale of (or approaching the scale of) the SF/NYC/Boston types, SY will rise sooner than later.

Also, what would be a “cool” industry? Is the giant innovation center that hovers over the city not good enough?

Big IFs in the above. And, our VC dollars pale in comparision to the other cities you mentioned, but we made some improvements, but can't really compete with the big boys yet. Something major has to change for that dynamic to shift into Philly's favor. All I'm saying is that our huge workforce numbers are in educations (professors, assistants, teaching aides, support staff, etc), realizing there are university researchers in that mix getting medical and science studies published and peer-reviewed, and medicine, a la those who provide medical services to the ill and sick (e.g., immediate or chronic disease treatments, etc....think hospitals, health systems, urgent care centers).

I just like to see huge numbers in terms of workforce in say technology and engineering (from design to full scale production). "Cool" would be that we design and build stuff that the masses can use. The "giant innovation center" is a start and a great marketing tool, but it hasn't reach a critical level and mass where people think of Philly as innovating everyday common but high tech products we find in our household or see in services we use.

Your thoughts?

My thoughts are we are definitely on the same page. The issue seems to be as much about perception as anything else and that CTC is one of the big potential marketing drivers. Thankfully, this seems to be slowly shifting - Philly is definitely seen as “cool” now, which is often equated with young, which carries all sorts of connotations. I’m happy that some of the major institutions (public and private) seem to be understanding this more and more and are starting to act in concert to make things happen.

If we can snag a few cooler companies (satellite offices work just fine with me), hopefully we’ll see the momentum continue. Definitely some if’s built into that equation, but i’m feeling bullish on the city right now :cheers:

Got a peek at the park from the train.

https://i.imgur.com/aCBH7ty.jpg

From the Schuylkill Yards twitter account:

https://i.imgur.com/E8GSvZk.jpg?1

reach over the fence. I like the contrast with the steampunk septa station. They should guild that in something.

https://i.imgur.com/bhVotOw.jpg

I generally like how the park looks, but I worry that it won't be that useful in reality. For example, I don't see those arcing paths being very practical for walking from one place to another. Am I missing the point?

I really love watching a new park formed. Very exciting.

It's not a skateboard park, that's for sure.
Not good for runners, unless you like running into other people as they all run around in circles.

What this park needs is benches, trash receptacles & food vendors.

Looking at the renders and not that they mean anything, it generally looks like those paths are just for design. They do show some people walking on those paths, but primarily just people lounging in the grass

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=897
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=908

It's not... finished.

That's a really nice park. Do we know when it's going to open? I'm ready for it.

And don't forget about the large trees we've been promised.

When the trees arrive, and finishing touches completed, this park is going to quickly shut up the people angry over the Love Park re-do.


http:////c1.staticflickr.com/2/1755/...db2a225b_b.jpg

http:////c1.staticflickr.com/2/1722/...e58b8b0d_b.jpg

http:////c1.staticflickr.com/2/1760/...3391606f_b.jpg

http:////c1.staticflickr.com/2/1727/...f7d83376_b.jpg

http:////c1.staticflickr.com/2/1745/...38a0c5ec_b.jpg

http:////c1.staticflickr.com/2/1752/...437ba978_b.jpg