PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread II

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by ok-ez

speaking of chinatown they are digging what looks like a new foundation next to everyone's favorite never ending addition

Lol are there just no rules over there? Like, what's going on?

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Lol are there just no rules over there? Like, what's going on?

There's a permit I remember seeing for this, believe it or not this section is supposed to also eventually be 10 stories and actually become the main entrance. We can check back in another 10-15 years

[BroadandMarket]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

You heard it here first. That will be the ONLY component of the existing proposal to create a neighborhood that gets built, and it will only be built to try and recover some of the revenue when the Sixers leave.

You mean they’re not going to build a lake in the middle of H lot like the renderings showed?! The renderings also have pedestrian sky bridges over Pattison and Broad haha there’s just a 0% chance of that happening.

Also why is Phase 1 mostly all internal of the parking lots, only the new arena faces Pattison. If you were going to start a massive project, why wouldn’t it face Pattison, 11th or broad?

[PHL10]

This morning:

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PHL10

This morning:

What an absolutely horrid structure. How can any developer look at that and be proud of what they've built?

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

What an absolutely horrid structure. How can any developer look at that and be proud of what they've built?

Yea, I really wanted to like this building. The interiors look nice, but you can still see cost cutting compared to the renderings (less marble and cheaper looking stone), and the exterior is a flat dusty box.

Prices start at over $1M, I would be shocked if these units sold easily. The listings still show the original glamourous renderings... https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...55421272_zpid/

[BroadandMarket]

It's not that bad in person, the materials are high end at least. The bricks were laid by hand. Nothing ever looks as good as the renders do. They definitely omitted a lot of the facade depth which would have elevated the design. IMO gray brick just isn't ever really great haha it's Old City, use red brick. White brick even looks a lot better than than dark gray IMO. In LA or somewhere with 24/7 sun and warmth, dark gray works better.

White: https://www.instagram.com/p/C38Q_qIJvx5/?img_index=1
Red: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6KUoblJhcc/?img_index=1
Gray: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs2EADppg7q/?img_index=1
Beige: https://www.instagram.com/p/CS2FQitro8Y/

That being said, this is an extremely loud intersection between 95, Patco going over BF and Race Street is really busy here because of the 95 onramp.

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Also, it seems like there are two issues here - Vine Street and the Vine Street Expressway. All the danger for pedestrians is created by Vine Street. The expressway severed the northern border of Chinatown with the rest of the city but the dangers associated with Vine Street will remain as long as it's open to vehicular traffic.

I don't know if the details are fully fleshed out, but it's supposed to come with a road diet as well. I believe at least one lane is to be converted to a bike lane, bringing it to 2 lanes

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Originally Posted by BroadandMarket

It's not that bad in person, the materials are high end at least.

In terms of the materials, the omission of the marble is the biggest loss I think. Replacing that with random darker gray bricks just looks janky, similar to the look of repairs done with non matching brick. Not to mention the hideous amount of exposed exhaust and ventilation holes

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by BroadandMarket

Nothing ever looks as good as the renders do.

This isn't always true, as evidenced by some recent CANNO projects. It's just something we've come to accept as fact as a city because it happens time and time again.

[Arch+Eng]

Originally Posted by PHL10

This morning:

[PHLtoNYC]

Weird to think that Philadelphia will be drop to #7 in a few years.
(I know population rankings are mostly a symbol of vanity, and possibly inaccurate, and San Antonio has a larger land area, just pointing it out).

Philly is still the 6th-biggest U.S. city, but San Antonio is catching up
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philad...-20240516.html

Between April 2020 and July 2023, Philadelphia lost 3.3% of its population, or about 53,000 residents, census estimates showed. Those pandemic-era losses dropped the city’s population to about 1,550,542.

San Antonio, meanwhile, saw the largest numerical increase in its population of any city in the country in 2023, adding about 22,000 residents last year. That influx increased the city’s population to 1,495,295 people, according to census estimates — putting it just about 55,000 people behind Philadelphia.

[mcgrath618]

Again. Put no faith in the census estimates. Until 2030 comes around, we’re still #6.

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Weird to think that Philadelphia will be drop to #7 in a few years.
(I know population rankings are mostly a symbol of vanity, and I know San Antonio has a larger land area, just pointing it out).

Philly is still the 6th-biggest U.S. city, but San Antonio is catching up
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philad...-20240516.html

Between April 2020 and July 2023, Philadelphia lost 3.3% of its population, or about 53,000 residents, census estimates showed. Those pandemic-era losses dropped the city’s population to about 1,550,542.

San Antonio, meanwhile, saw the largest numerical increase in its population of any city in the country in 2023, adding about 22,000 residents last year. That influx increased the city’s population to 1,495,295 people, according to census estimates — putting it just about 55,000 people behind Philadelphia.

Texas is growing like crazy. The sustained growth there for 20+ years is astonishing and a force to reckoned with. Dallas, Houston, SA, Austin.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

What an absolutely horrid structure. How can any developer look at that and be proud of what they've built?

Hard to overstate how $hitty this building is. The street level is some of the most horrifying crap I've ever seen in a building. There are shed doors on Race street. There is an office and a tiny space for retail which might be big enough for a news-stand. maybe.

It's stunning.

[aprice1828]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Weird to think that Philadelphia will be drop to #7 in a few years.
(I know population rankings are mostly a symbol of vanity, and possibly inaccurate, and San Antonio has a larger land area, just pointing it out).

Philly 142 sq miles. San Antonio is 500 sq miles.
Philly is the 7th largest metro area in the U.S. San Antonio is 24th.
Municipal populations are meaningless. Don't waste your time on a list of cities where Indianapolis is no. 16 and Atlanta is no. 38.

[jaysb]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

Texas is growing like crazy. The sustained growth there for 20+ years is astonishing and a force to reckoned with. Dallas, Houston, SA, Austin.

For now...but I think TX is at a tipping point:

1-Climate Change- summers are absolutely putrid there and getting worse
2- Affordability was a large draw but no longer the case. Not to mention RE Taxes are 3% and are reassessed annually. Increase instances of Severe Weather will jack up insurance rates like we are seeing in Florida.
3- Sprawl- younger generations preference for driving is way lower, they don't want to live far from where they play. Sure some suburbs have those manufactured city centers but those are no subsitute for real city living
4- Personal Freedoms - Libertarian Cato Institute ranked Texas DEAD LAST for personal freedoms. Don't underestimate the impact on professional class such as doctors, professors, etc.

I think 2030 is going to look a lot different for TX than it currently does.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by aprice1828

Philly 142 sq miles. San Antonio is 500 sq miles.
Philly is the 7th largest metro area in the U.S. San Antonio is 24th.
Municipal populations are meaningless. Don't waste your time on a list of cities where Indianapolis is no. 16 and Atlanta is no. 38.

This.

There are many other examples of this, e.g., Boston, San Francisco, Washington, DC, etc. These days, municipal population figures really don't tell you much about a city, its relative significance, or its (more relevant) metro area.

[BroadandMarket]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

This.

There are many other examples of this, e.g., Boston, San Francisco, Washington, DC, etc. These days, municipal population figures really don't tell you much about a city, its relative significance, or its (more relevant) metro area.

Yeah most of Houston, San Antonio, Jacksonville and Phoenix are less dense than most areas of Delco and the main line. Jacksonville is 875 square miles, Houston is 672 and Phoenix is 520. These cities all annexed massive areas over time and Philly's border has not changed since 1854. We'd actually be a lot better off if parts of Delco and Montco were in city limits, it would really help the tax base. But yeah comparing massive cities is just apples and oranges.

Boston, SF, Philly, Chicago, NYC, LA and DC are the big urban cities in America. Denver, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Seattle are in the next tier.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by jaysb

For now...but I think TX is at a tipping point:

1-Climate Change- summers are absolutely putrid there and getting worse
2- Affordability was a large draw but no longer the case. Not to mention RE Taxes are 3% and are reassessed annually. Increase instances of Severe Weather will jack up insurance rates like we are seeing in Florida.
3- Sprawl- younger generations preference for driving is way lower, they don't want to live far from where they play. Sure some suburbs have those manufactured city centers but those are no subsitute for real city living
4- Personal Freedoms - Libertarian Cato Institute ranked Texas DEAD LAST for personal freedoms. Don't underestimate the impact on professional class such as doctors, professors, etc.

I think 2030 is going to look a lot different for TX than it currently does.

You can't even watch porn there, I heard. You know, from someone who knows the buddy of the next door neighbor to my aunt's college roommate.