PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Philly imagined a Delaware waterfront full of apartments. Instead, we’re getting suburban-style townhouses. | Inga Saffron
https://www.philly.com/real-estate/i...-20190321.html

Eh. I kind of both agree and disagree with her. I wish it was more dense but honestly I am happy if these sell at all.

Exactly, once available lots are consumed, it will increase the value of remaining land which should drive demand for multifamily mid rises. But you have to start somewhere and it appears the market for apts or condos on the waterfront isn't there right now

[Urbanthusiat]

Waterfront apartments are a tough sell. They cost more to build and operate because of being so close to the water and flood insurance. So you need a rent premium to justify building them. At the same time, it'd be hard to convince someone to pay more or the same to live on the waterfront when they could live somewhere else with better connectivity, walkability, and proximity to cool stuff. I personally wouldn't pick Delaware ave over Fishtown unless it was at a significant discount. Delaware Avenue - in South Philly in particular - is simply not that exciting.

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Waterfront apartments are a tough sell. They cost more to build and operate because of being so close to the water and flood insurance. So you need a rent premium to justify building them. At the same time, it'd be hard to convince someone to pay more or the same to live on the waterfront when they could live somewhere else with better connectivity, walkability, and proximity to cool stuff. I personally wouldn't pick Delaware ave over Fishtown unless it was at a significant discount. Delaware Avenue - in South Philly in particular - is simply not that exciting.

I certainly wouldn't pick the other side of Delaware Ave either, but the article states that these townhomes are already selling for $1.5-$2 million, so it appears that there aren't a shortage of people who want this location.

[Boku]

Italian Market apartments are scaled back amid complaints, but parking plan still opposed

https://www.philly.com/real-estate/c...-20190321.html

Midwood Investment & Development of New York has tweaked its proposal for an apartment building on Ninth Street in South Philadelphia’s Italian Market to include fewer units after some neighbors said the project was too big for the neighborhood.

Midwood’s latest plan for the site on the southeast corner of Ninth Street and Washington Avenue calls for a six-story building with 157 apartments, according to documents posted Wednesday to the website of the Philadelphia Civic Design Review Board. That’s down from the eight-story, 182-unit building proposed in October.

When nearby residents — led by the Passyunk Square Civic Association — agreed not to oppose a 2015 zoning change that permitted the project, Midwood’s plan had been for an even smaller building, with five stories and 70 units. So when the eight-story iteration was proposed in October, some balked at what they saw as a bait-and-switch by the developer.

Sarah Anton, president of the Passyunk Square Civic Association, said the new version assuages most community members’ concerns about the project’s height and density. But community members still oppose having the entrance to the building’s underground parking garage on Ninth Street, where they fear it could stunt the ongoing revitalization of what’s sometimes called the Lower Italian Market, she said.

Midwood’s project would occupy a three-quarter-acre site that’s now home to the Anastasi Seafood fish market and restaurant, which is moving elsewhere within the Italian Market, and surrounding vacant land. Much of the building’s ground floor is to consist of 15,600 square feet of street-facing shops or restaurants, with the building’s two-story, 120-space parking garage being built below ground, according to the plans.

Midwood also owns the nearby building at Ninth and Christian Streets that is currently home to the restaurant Monsu and is a large owner of property on South Street’s eastern end, where its holdings include the Sixth and South Street property where Federal Donuts recently opened.

Its Center City holdings include the glass structure at 15th and Walnut Streets that accommodates a Cheesecake Factory restaurant.

Midwood’s Italian Market project is scheduled to be presented April 2 to the Civic Design Review Board, which offers nonbinding recommendations on Philadelphia’s biggest development projects.

[Boku]

"Renderings of the Fusion Arena to be built for the sports complex in South Philadelphia." (It's a video)

3,500 seat arena. Pretty cool.

https://www.philly.com/business/plan...-20190322.html

[Urbanthusiat]

Phily.com took down that link for some reason.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Boku

"Renderings of the Fusion Arena to be built for the sports complex in South Philadelphia." (It's a video)

3,500 seat arena. Pretty cool.

https://www.philly.com/business/plan...-20190322.html

They took that page down (even the google cache for it shows up as not found):

Uh-Oh?!
We’re sorry, we cannot find the page you were looking for.

[iheartphilly]

Boy, this has Amazon's smell all over it...LOL.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel..._news_headline

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Boku

"Renderings of the Fusion Arena to be built for the sports complex in South Philadelphia." (It's a video)

3,500 seat arena. Pretty cool.

https://www.philly.com/business/plan...-20190322.html

I've been hearing about this for months from the gf. We assumed it was part of Xfinity Live.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

They took that page down (even the google cache for it shows up as not found):

Uh-Oh?!
We’re sorry, we cannot find the page you were looking for.

Yeah it was weird, there wasn't anything else accompanying the video. Looked pretty neat!

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Boku

Yeah it was weird, there wasn't anything else accompanying the video. Looked pretty neat!

It may have been embargoed by the source pending a later news conference or somesuch and accidentally posted by philly.com.

[Scottydont]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Please do! The changes to the lobby look like they will be nice. The exterior renders I saw were so bad, I can't tell exactly what they will be doing other than opening up the stores with glass and better street activation (that part is good). Can't tell if something else is going to happen to the facade.

There use to be a rendering for the actual lobby, but with all of the construction it seems to be been moved/removed.

Centre Square reno:

[Boku]

Here's the official news, then:

Comcast to spend $50 million in South Philly to create the nation’s first video gaming arena

https://www.philly.com/business/comc...-20190325.html

Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Flyers, is to announce Monday morning that it will construct the first arena for gaming fans in the U.S. for the Comcast-owned Fusion, company officials say.

The $50 million project is a testament to the surging popularity of esports, in which players compete in video games before large crowds. The company plans to break ground this summer on part of the 47-acre stadium complex site that Comcast Spectacor leases in South Philadelphia. The 3,500-seat arena will rise on a parking lot, next to Xfinity Live! and within walking distance of the Linc, Citizens Bank Park, and the Wells Fargo Center.

According to the Phila Business Journal, University City was their first choice for the arena, but they couldn't find the land for it. https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...anned-for.html

[summersm343]

Nice! So pleased to finally see investment and development around the Stadiums. The area has so much potential that is just not being realized now.

Build this Fusion Arena, build the Philly Sports Museum, Philly Live! Casino, and this office building and whole planned mixed-use district next to Xfinity Live! By Cordish Co, and we’re on to something good.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Nice! So pleased to finally see investment and development around the Stadiums. The area has so much potential that is just not being realized now.

Build this Fusion Arena, build the Philly Sports Museum, Philly Live! Casino, and this office building and whole planned mixed-use district next to Xfinity Live! By Cordish Co, and we’re on to something good.

According to the philly.com article, there has to be at least 18,000 parking spots in the sports complex. I wonder how much that limits the amount of development possible.

[Scottydont]

Originally Posted by Scottydont

There use to be a rendering for the actual lobby, but with all of the construction it seems to be been moved/removed.

Centre Square reno:

Found a few more renderings in the lobby:

[eixample]

Originally Posted by Boku

According to the philly.com article, there has to be at least 18,000 parking spots in the sports complex. I wonder how much that limits the amount of development possible.

If they had enough development, couldn't they build parking garages? Eventually car use (or car parking at lease) should drop with car shares/driverless cars. Of course then we'll need tons of space reserved for pick up zones so it'll probably all equal out in the end.

I wonder if this e-sports arena will also host concerts and other shows and be new competition for The Met, Academy of Music, Fillmore, etc.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Scottydont

Found a few more renderings in the lobby:

When's this supposed to start?

[New2Fishtown]

Originally Posted by Boku

According to the philly.com article, there has to be at least 18,000 parking spots in the sports complex. I wonder how much that limits the amount of development possible.

Yeah, the solution is just to build vertical parking to offset what's lost as development occurs. The trick is doing so thoughtfully so that land and money aren't wasted to replace parking on an incremental basis. The ideal thing would be to build large structures in the interiors of the super blocks that allow a street grid to be maintained/created as development occurs and allows active uses to front along all of those streets. We'll see how quickly other proposals surface for this land and if they're thinking far enough ahead.

[Nova08]

Can they just simply build one floor over the existing stadium lots?