http://planphilly.com/articles/2015/...tre-auditorium
Well it looks like the Boyd is officially gone. What a shame. When Pearl purchased the property I was cautiously optimistic. I figured restoring the Boyd would never be economically feasible on its own, but tied to a much larger project it at least seemed possible. Near residents really pushed hard to save the Boyd, and with's pearl's inability to get people on board for their skyscraper I thought that agreeing to fix up the Boyd would make everyone happy and allow them to move forward with their plans. It looks like they don't need neighborhood support to move forward though and so the Boyd is a goner.
On the plus side, Pearl apparently is going to spare the entire lobby and front facade of the Boyd, which is more than the previous ipic proposal which was only going to save the front facade. It's sad to see the Boyd go, but it will be much easier to say goodbye if this beautiful building rises next door.
My question is what actually happens to the Boyd property? My current understanding is that Pearl purchased the Boyd Property to increase the land area of their plot on the corner there, allowing them to build their tower by right. But if they plan to build as originally proposed, none of the Boyd property is involved in the footprint of the building. Would Pearl move ahead with another movie theater at this location? Has pearl ever built anything like that before? Or would they just use the movie theater lobby as a grand lobby for the proposed tower?