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

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Nova08

Third apartment community set to begin construction in Conshohocken
https://morethanthecurve.com/third-a...-conshohocken/

Superb! Fantastic project, and another highrise for Conshohocken

This definitely deserves it's own thread since it's 12-13 floors tall.

[summersm343]

New Thread

Conshohocken, PA - 400 West Elm Street:
https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...18#post9410318

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by summersm343

What a great project! Thanks for posting. Conshohocken is on fire

Interesting updates from the meeting yesterday and something is telling me don't hold our breath with this one

Rocky start to proposal to build 598 riverfront apartments at border of Whitemarsh and Conshohocken

And a few interesting items:

– The “K” in KRE is Kushner. The developer involved is the uncle of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

– The zoning hearing in Whitemarsh for this proposal is scheduled for October 6th. An agenda has not yet been released.

– It wasn’t clear whether an application has been filed in Conshohocken as of yet, however, there were a handful of mentions by the developer of having met with the borough’s staff.

https://morethanthecurve.com/rocky-s...-conshohocken/

[Justin7]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

– The “K” in KRE is Kushner. The developer involved is the uncle of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

KRE is also involved with National in the Northern Liberties development. From what I understand the two sides of the Kushner family hate each other. KRE (Kushner Real Estate Group) should not be confused with the criminal Kushner Companies, run by Jared's side of the family.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Justin7

KRE is also involved with National in the Northern Liberties development. From what I understand the two sides of the Kushner family hate each other. KRE (Kushner Real Estate Group) should not be confused with the criminal Kushner Companies, run by Jared's side of the family.

My best friend is in Commercial Real Estate in NYC and owns a bunch of multi-families in Philly. I can confirm this. The extended Kushner family (i.e. Jared's cousin and uncle) have a great upstanding relationship in the business and are generally well like. It is also well known they can't stand Jared and his father.

[summersm343]

BNP Paribas opens 'destination' office in Chesterbrook, plans to hire 300 people over next 3 years

BNP Paribas opened a new 59,000-square-foot office in Chesterbrook and plans to use the design of the space as a model for future offices across the globe.

The company will eventually have 400 employees working from Chesterbrook. That includes 100 existing employees based in the area and the addition of 300 more over the next three years.

The French financial company spent $18 million designing and building out the space at 735 Chesterbrook Blvd. It is deploying a concept referred to as the “office as a destination,” which is a workplace with a location and design that makes employees want to spend time there.

BNP signed the lease in Chesterbrook in July 2020 when employees were working remotely. The company is now allowing employees flexibility to work from home and in the office, a hybrid approach that is becoming common.

“The new ways of working, particularly post-Covid, is to make the workplace attractive,” said Jean-Yves Fillion, Americas CEO for BNP. “It’s part of a reset and is a real opportunity. You have to capitalize on what this situation is creating and you have to have the courage to do it.”

In some regards, providing a fresh start in a brand new space may reinvigorate employees and entice them to return to the office, and that is also part of what BNP is aiming to achieve. The company had been in 14,000 square feet at 555 Croton Road in King of Prussia since 1999.

Article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

[summersm343]

Renderings Revealed For 35-Unit Building At 102-112 Park Avenue In Swarthmore, PA

Rendering:


Rendering:


Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2021/10/rend...warthmore.html

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Renderings Revealed For 35-Unit Building At 102-112 Park Avenue In Swarthmore, PA

Rendering:


Rendering:


Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2021/10/rend...warthmore.html

This is how Delaware County is going to grow in the coming decades. Up, not out.

For Swarthmore to grow 5% in a decade, it would have to add roughly 300 people. It's not a big town but it is built out. Assuming an average of 2 people per household, it would need roughly 150 additional units of housing to hit that target. Or, 5 of these somewhat modest proposals.

The most logical places for the densification are near the train station, along Rt 1 where Swarthmore abuts Springfield and the Springfield Mall and Sproul Shopping Centers, and on S Chester Road where there are a few strip malls and auto dealerships on the Nether Providence (Wallingford) border.

[PHLtoNYC]

Great looking project in Swarthmore, it appears to be replacing an ugly 3-story 1970s apartment building.

But Swarthmore might win the area's top NIMBY award, I am sure there are neighbors ready to derail this (for whatever stupid reasons). Nearby Media has been much more welcoming to denser downtown development.

[Justin7]

I'm all for high density TOD, but this thing is bad in ways I didn't even know existed.

[EastSideHBG]

This story mentions people migrating from Center City to MontCo and Bucks and how CC prices are dropping and there's two months' worth of homes on the market vs the opposite in the 'burbs:

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...wcWDqpzkK4kXxU

[mcgrath618]

A good chunk of the houses in the burbs were bought by people moving down from NY/NJ. I know people looking to move from North Wales to Philly who have seen the houses gobbled up around them by New Yorkers, and have received some offers on their own house by the same demographic.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

This story mentions people migrating from Center City to MontCo and Bucks and how CC prices are dropping and there's two months' worth of homes on the market vs the opposite in the 'burbs:

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...wcWDqpzkK4kXxU

Typical click bait article/video. A little dramatic, a little over exaggerative, and without proof. People are always looking to move from the city to burbs, from the burbs to the city, so on and so forth. There's a little more inventory in the city right now because of the pandemic, sure, that plays into it a little bit.... but the bigger factor is because of all of the new construction in the city limits right now. I don't know exact statistics, but I'm willing to bet the city has more new construction right now than all 4 surrounding suburban counties combined.

Furthermore, the suburban markets are starting to slow down in most areas. It's lagging the city a little bit, but the suburban markets will be at 2 month inventory by end of the year or early next year... you can mark my words on that.

PS - I work in real estate - new construction. City and suburbs, so I have no bias towards one or the other.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Typical click bait article/video. A little dramatic, a little over exaggerative, and without proof. People are always looking to move from the city to burbs, from the burbs to the city, so on and so forth. There's a little more inventory in the city right now because of the pandemic, sure, that plays into it a little bit.... but the bigger factor is because of all of the new construction in the city limits right now. I don't know exact statistics, but I'm willing to bet the city has more new construction right now than all 4 surrounding suburban counties combined.

Furthermore, the suburban markets are starting to slow down in most areas. It's lagging the city a little bit, but the suburban markets will be at 2 month inventory by end of the year or early next year... you can mark my words on that.

PS - I work in real estate - new construction. City and suburbs, so I have no bias towards one or the other.

They specifically mentioned Center City so I am not sure other areas of the city would count in relation to this story. It would be interesting to see the stats on this, though, particularly the city construction portion and one advantage that comes to mind is the teardown and rebuilding, which you don't really have a need for in the 'burbs.

I agree with you about the suburban slowdown but I am seeing this across the nation also and the market is rapidly cooling.

[UrbanRevival]

Here's a real estate article with a little more context from today. Inventory is more than 50% below historical levels in the city; that's incredibly low.

Philadelphia's housing market remains highly competitive

[Snip]

State of play: Just over 3,000 homes are currently listed in Philadelphia, Gillen noted in a Q2 housing report published last month. That's down by more than 50% compared to 7,400, the city's historic monthly average going back nearly 20 years.

Meanwhile, the average seasonally adjusted price of a Philly home increased by 2.8% from April to June. However, Q1 saw a higher growth rate of 5%.

West and Southwest Philadelphia have seen the largest jump in home prices year over year, and University City was the only neighborhood to see a dip.

Zillow projects the city's average housing prices to increase 6.5% over the next year — a downgrade from its previous forecast of 8.3%

.

https://www.axios.com/local/philadel...-drexel-report

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by UrbanRevival

Here's a real estate article with a little more context from today. Inventory is 50% below historical levels in the city; that's incredibly low.

.

https://www.axios.com/local/philadel...-drexel-report

There's a reason why so many residential projects are in the works right now.

The Laurel, the Arthaus, 1620 Sansom, Broad and Noble, Cathedral Square, River Walk, 1101 Walnut, 204 S. 12th, 12th and Sansom, One Dock Street, and plenty of other midrise and lowrise towers (not to mention office conversions) are all U/C or imminently U/C. There are thousands of units being built there. This is not reflective of what that NBC 10 article might be trying to portray.

It is accurate to say that the suburbs are getting cramped, though. The Philly suburbs are some of the nicest of any US City.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Typical click bait article/video. A little dramatic, a little over exaggerative, and without proof. People are always looking to move from the city to burbs, from the burbs to the city, so on and so forth. There's a little more inventory in the city right now because of the pandemic, sure, that plays into it a little bit.... but the bigger factor is because of all of the new construction in the city limits right now. I don't know exact statistics, but I'm willing to bet the city has more new construction right now than all 4 surrounding suburban counties combined.

Furthermore, the suburban markets are starting to slow down in most areas. It's lagging the city a little bit, but the suburban markets will be at 2 month inventory by end of the year or early next year... you can mark my words on that.

PS - I work in real estate - new construction. City and suburbs, so I have no bias towards one or the other.

I agree, this is basically a time filler story for the local news. NBC asked one real estate firm (representing the relocating couple) a series of questions at a snapshot in time, attempting to paint a questionable picture of the Center City market... Philadelphia does have a lot of new inventory on coming online, which was not mentioned, and certainly plays into increased inventory.

Also, Chester County which is the most competitive market at the moment wasn't even mentioned in the story. In the end, trends for all counties (and cities) come in ebbs and flows, the only county I see defying a slowdown is Chester County, for a variety of reasons.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

I agree, this is basically a time filler story for the local news. NBC asked one real estate firm (representing the relocating couple) a series of questions at a snapshot in time, attempting to paint a questionable picture of the Center City market... Philadelphia does have a lot of new inventory on coming online, which was not mentioned, and certainly plays into increased inventory.

Exactly - they asked a suburban realtor, whom are always somewhat more exaggerative (no offense to realtors) and who has a biased towards the suburbs. Of course they're going to say "Oh this person is moving to the city and I helped 4 people coming from the city this year.... so many people are coming from the city."

[summersm343]

SEPTA's King of Prussia rail proposal gains entry into federal funding program

SEPTA's plan to extend rail service to King of Prussia gained entry into a national program on Monday putting the project in line for a potential boost in federal funding.

The Federal Transportation Administration’s Capital Investment Grant program appropriates funds under its New Starts program for light, heavy, and commuter rail projects, streetcar, and bus rapid transit projects. The New Starts program provides $2.3 billion annually in federal funding to transit projects across the U.S., including extensions to existing systems like the Norristown High Speed Line.

The $2 billion rail line would connect Center City and University City to King of Prussia, a suburban hotbed for development. The proposal would add 4.4 miles to the Norristown High Speed Line.

SEPTA has said it will seek up to 50% of the project’s funding from the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts program.

SEPTA officials called the entry into the New Starts program "a critical milestone in seeking federal funding support and provides the opportunity for continued coordination" with the Federal Transportation Administration.

Article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=1#cxrecs_s

[arkitect13]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Typical click bait article/video. A little dramatic, a little over exaggerative, and without proof. People are always looking to move from the city to burbs, from the burbs to the city, so on and so forth. There's a little more inventory in the city right now because of the pandemic, sure, that plays into it a little bit.... but the bigger factor is because of all of the new construction in the city limits right now. I don't know exact statistics, but I'm willing to bet the city has more new construction right now than all 4 surrounding suburban counties combined.

Furthermore, the suburban markets are starting to slow down in most areas. It's lagging the city a little bit, but the suburban markets will be at 2 month inventory by end of the year or early next year... you can mark my words on that.

PS - I work in real estate - new construction. City and suburbs, so I have no bias towards one or the other.

I agree, I've seen there's at least 10,000 units in the city that are under construction and at least another 1-2k in proposals. At this point there's not to much suburban development, there's 2 projects near me behind the promenade and another in ambler, that took over what I think was a orphanage? Its a mix of condos and townhomes, all ridiculously expensive. The area around me has nothing affordable, all the condos are renting for prices that I don't think even center city hasn't reached yet. The cheapest "New" rental ive seen is 2500 a month for 1 bed and 900 sqft. And homes are at least 700k at the cheapest.