PHILADELPHIA-CAMDEN-WILMINGTON-ATLANTIC CITY-READING | Metro Development Thread

[Nomad9]

Originally Posted by El Duderino

Not to rain on the parade, but this is an advertorial article list that JPMorgan Chase put together to highlight where THEIR presence is. While not an inaccurate list, it should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

I saw that awhile back and had the same thought, but the fact that a major (non-Delaware-based) company is spending money to promote the city in a major national publication as a rising tech hub? That’s definitely good press for the city regardless.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by El Duderino

Not to rain on the parade, but this is an advertorial article list that JPMorgan Chase put together to highlight where THEIR presence is. While not an inaccurate list, it should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

Indeed. But JP Morgan Chase's Investment in the sub-region is not to be underestimated. I have no idea how many people JP Morgan employs in Wilmington but I can tell you that if you dig beneath the surface of every real estate transaction in the towns in PA bordering Delaware (Boothwyn, Garnet Valley, Glen Mills, Chadds Ford), I'd wager a guess in saying that no fewer than 25% of the buyers work at JP Morgan. This is particularly true in Garnet Valley.

Many are transplants from North Jersey and New York, from which JP Morgan seems to be moving not an insubstantial number of people, quickly.

Most have Masters and PhDs in Computer Science. All of that talent will have a lasting impact on the region for sure, especially if they filter into other companies and industries.

[Mr Saturn64]

What do we think of this? Does this mean Amazon's going for Boston?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/b...vancouver.html

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Mr Saturn64

What do we think of this? Does this mean Amazon's going for Boston?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/b...vancouver.html

For what tea leaf reading is worth, I think it suggests that it is not Boston. I guess Vancouver and Boston are satellite cities in terms of Amazons thinking.

[DIESELPOLO]

Originally Posted by eixample

Ugh, this main line attitude is so annoying. Lancaster Avenue should have development like this stretching out to Coatesville (I don't mean continuously, but in the immediate vicinity of each regional rail station at least).

I wonder what those living along the asked-for KOP line extension expect to the happen with regard to the land use around those potential stations. Such a large public investment in mass transit infrastructure would imply denser and different housing types adjacent to and near these stations. I wonder if people think about this or if they simply want a train station surrounded by parking, which is becoming an undesirable land use pairing – at least for inner ring suburbs of dense regions.

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by Mr Saturn64

What do we think of this? Does this mean Amazon's going for Boston?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/b...vancouver.html

They announced thousands of new jobs being created in NYC half a year back. They are a behemoth and expanding literally everywhere, I wouldn't look too much into it. Yes, it could mean they are thinking bigger for Boston...OR, they recognize the talent pool in Boston and want to snag some of that as a satellite office to their new Philly headquarters...

Honestly, I wish they would just announce it already so we can either get really excited or be bummed out and get on with our lives.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Milksteak

...

Honestly, I wish they would just announce it already so we can either get really excited or be bummed out and get on with our lives.

Agreed. I think it's gotten to the point where the longer this goes on, the less interested the finalist cities will get.

Pull the damn cord already.

[Jawnadelphia]

B/P Group rolling along - Midtown project, and renovating the older building on the left.



The new apt buildings (The Grand Opera House in background)

[Mr Saturn64]

Originally Posted by Milksteak

They announced thousands of new jobs being created in NYC half a year back. They are a behemoth and expanding literally everywhere, I wouldn't look too much into it. Yes, it could mean they are thinking bigger for Boston...OR, they recognize the talent pool in Boston and want to snag some of that as a satellite office to their new Philly headquarters...

Honestly, I wish they would just announce it already so we can either get really excited or be bummed out and get on with our lives.

Originally Posted by Redddog

Agreed. I think it's gotten to the point where the longer this goes on, the less interested the finalist cities will get.

Pull the damn cord already.

But the question is, did they make a pick, or are they still working on it?

[Jawnadelphia]

Capano building #1 should have the first residents moving in any time now





Bridge over the Christina River - construction continues (towards the southern end of the Riverfront developments):

[Jawnadelphia]

In the burbs, near Concord Pike ...

B/P Group's massive residential project (Concord Plaza) continues in an old suburban office park:




http://www.bpgsconstruction.com/property/concord-plaza/

[jslice]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Indeed. But JP Morgan Chase's Investment in the sub-region is not to be underestimated. I have no idea how many people JP Morgan employs in Wilmington but I can tell you that if you dig beneath the surface of every real estate transaction in the towns in PA bordering Delaware (Boothwyn, Garnet Valley, Glen Mills, Chadds Ford), I'd wager a guess in saying that no fewer than 25% of the buyers work at JP Morgan. This is particularly true in Garnet Valley.

Many are transplants from North Jersey and New York, from which JP Morgan seems to be moving not an insubstantial number of people, quickly.

Most have Masters and PhDs in Computer Science. All of that talent will have a lasting impact on the region for sure, especially if they filter into other companies and industries.

Do you think an impediment to Delaware growth is the perception of the public schools? I find a lot of people living just over the border in PA because of the highly rated schools. Seems like public schools in DE have a bad reputation which unless they somehow fix will continue the pattern of highly educated individuals living just over the border and only coming into Wilmington from 9-5 for work. I don't even mean the city schools, I mean someone choosing to live in Glen mills rather than Brandywine hundred due to school differences.

[Urbanthusiat]

Kimco takes on phase three at Suburban Square on the Main Line

Kimco Realty Co. is moving ahead with a third phase of its $65 million repositioning of Suburban Square, a life-style center in Ardmore, Pa., that the company is working to keep relevant in a fast-changing and challenging retail environment.

The New Hyde Park, N.Y., real estate investment trust has completed building a 629-space garage with 3,000 square feet of extra retail space, expanding Trader Joe’s by 4,000 square feet as well as backfilling a 90,000-square-foot Macy’s department store that had been a main anchor in the center for decades. New tenants in that space are Life Time Fitness, Life Time Work coworking, and a 10,000-square-foot West Elm, which opened in October. The Life Time facilities opened at the end of April.

With those projects completed, Kimco will now embark on phase three.

One part of it will involve activating and transforming an otherwise uninviting and underused courtyard into a community gathering area. It will be covered with grass and its design will strive to be an “inviting place where people can lounge, eat and play with their kids,” said David Jamieson, chief operating officer at Kimco. In addition, the street area in front of the restaurant Not Your Average Joe’s and the Apple store will be made more pedestrian friendly with a portion closed to vehicular traffic.

“This is a natural extension of the courtyard and allows us to bring that area out,” Jamieson said. “It creates an environment where people can circulate through the center and it plays off of Life Time with people engaging inside and outside.” The project is expected to be completed this summer.

What is going to be called “Station Row” is the biggest component of the third phase. It will entail developing a two-story, 30,000-square-foot building on what is now a small commuter parking lot along Coulter Avenue that Kimco owns. The ground floor space will be dedicated to retailers and restaurants while the second floor will mostly be offices.

Pre-leasing is underway at Station Row and the space will house seven to eight tenants. Jamieson declined to disclose the company that Kimco is in negotiations with, but he said the concepts are new names in the retail scene that have become local anchors because of their presence in a market and as a result of brand awareness. The tenants will be service-oriented, restaurants and a little bit of apparel. The space will be completed between 2019 and 2020.

Next up will be the development of a six-story apartment building on properties that Kimco has been assembling over the last couple of years. The center along with its location near a train station make it ripe for mixed-use transit-oriented development, Jamieson said. Kimco is working on those plans and going through the local approval process and the timing of that project hasn't been determined.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...struction.html

[iheartphilly]

^
Boring!

[Urbanthusiat]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
Boring!

Yeah I would have liked to have seen more apartments integrated into the site. They have plans for that in the future, but I don't see why they couldn't have just added apartments on top of this. It's right next to the regional rail stop... no reason it shouldn't be more mixed-use.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Yeah I would have liked to have seen more apartments integrated into the site. They have plans for that in the future, but I don't see why they couldn't have just added apartments on top of this. It's right next to the regional rail stop... no reason it shouldn't be more mixed-use.

Exactly!

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by jslice

Do you think an impediment to Delaware growth is the perception of the public schools? I find a lot of people living just over the border in PA because of the highly rated schools. Seems like public schools in DE have a bad reputation which unless they somehow fix will continue the pattern of highly educated individuals living just over the border and only coming into Wilmington from 9-5 for work. I don't even mean the city schools, I mean someone choosing to live in Glen mills rather than Brandywine hundred due to school differences.

I don't know if the schools in Delaware are bad per se, it's just that by comparison, the public schools just across the border in PA are stellar by any standard, not just in comparison to Delaware. You have 3-5 of the highest rated school districts in the state of PA and just beyond them more of the same. Even the middling school districts in that area are good in comparison to most places.

I mean, you have:
Unionville Chadds Ford (many years rated #1 in state)
Garnet Valley (I personally think is overrated but objectively great)
West Chester Area SD

And it's just not that these school districts are good, they all started out as area school districts when the area was more rural, so now, they cover 5-8 towns each. They're massive.

Then beyond that, you have:
Great Valley (Willistown, Malvern)
Rose Tree Media (Edgmont, Middletown)
Downingtown (like 8 different townships)
Kennett (Kennet Township, Kennett Square, New Garden Township)
Avon Grove

Basically, within a 15 mile radius of the Delaware border, you have a bunch of exceptional public school systems. Most people would be okay sending their kids to any one of them.

So it's a valid point. I think on average, Delaware schools are actually quite good (by national standards). Compared to the above school districts, they're below average.

[Jawnadelphia]

Brandywine School District and Red Clay are pretty good, B+ grade rankings in national rankings.
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/bes...ts/s/delaware/
Specific to the north Wilmington/Brandywine Hundred suburbs, Brandywine School District (which I'm a product of) is totally fine, good schools, mostly in suburban developments, nothing to complain about. Back in the day, parents hated the forced busing program that sent kids down into Wilmington for grades 4-6, but there's a school choice program now.

The PA school districts just over the border might be "better" on paper--sure, but it's a more wealthy area, and not nearly as diverse.

So it is what it is.

[jslice]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

Brandywine School District and Red Clay are pretty good, B+ grade rankings in national rankings.
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/bes...ts/s/delaware/
Specific to the north Wilmington/Brandywine Hundred suburbs, Brandywine School District (which I'm a product of) is totally fine, good schools, mostly in suburban developments, nothing to complain about. Back in the day, parents hated the forced busing program that sent kids down into Wilmington for grades 4-6, but there's a school choice program now.

The PA school districts just over the border might be "better" on paper--sure, but it's a more wealthy area, and not nearly as diverse.

So it is what it is.

Great insight & feedback - thank you!

[Slyfox]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

Brandywine School District and Red Clay are pretty good, B+ grade rankings in national rankings.
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/bes...ts/s/delaware/
Specific to the north Wilmington/Brandywine Hundred suburbs, Brandywine School District (which I'm a product of) is totally fine, good schools, mostly in suburban developments, nothing to complain about. Back in the day, parents hated the forced busing program that sent kids down into Wilmington for grades 4-6, but there's a school choice program now.

The PA school districts just over the border might be "better" on paper--sure, but it's a more wealthy area, and not nearly as diverse.

So it is what it is.

Paper scores are what get kids into college, the diversity of your school rarely does. I agree with all the above comments that DE schools are actually pretty decent when compared nationally, and I am a DE loyalist, but it's a no brainer to me if someone is considering school choices as a major factor in where to live (like most borderline child obsessed parents do) then why wouldn't you choose a top rated school district over the decent/slightly above decent school district.

I think, however, that it depends on who you are trying to attract to live and stay in the state of Delaware? Middle Aged families? Yuppie bankers and attorneys? Generic millennials? the 18-28 range are less concerned with schools and more so with places to hang out and things to do.

I'd say schools factor somewhere into things, but there are so many other variables and it depends on the demographic you want to cater to, so you can't narrow in on schools alone.