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Originally Posted by Insoluble
None of those have actually started to go up yet though. The proposal by the bridge (Is that still being called Marina View?) and 205 Race have been dragging along in the design phase and have gone through several redesigns without any sort of start date, though I'm not ready to write them off completely. Renaissance Plaza on the other hand should not in any way be confused with a serious proposal. The best case scenario is that the current "developer" sells the property to someone who will actually do something with it.
As for the lot between Callowhill and Vine, I'm not sure if there are any current proposals for that. I feel like there was one during the last boom (maybe trump Tower or Bridgeman's View?) The unfortunate fact is that there is a lot of developable land along the Delaware and the track history for successful large scale development has not been good. The only things to actually get developed in the last boom were Sugarhouse (not even phase 1, the "interim phase" ) and the first few Waterfront Square buildings (they were never able to finish the whole development.) As much as I'd love to see the Delaware waterfront fill up and densify, I totally understand the reluctance of developers to take the plunge given the history. That plus the obviously bogus proposals like Renaissance Plaza which keep large plots of land as vacant lots for DECADES.
It's frustrating as hell, but it will happen sooner or later. There's so much positive momentum in the city, it's only a matter of time before it spills over onto the water front.
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Pretty sure 205 race (early 2015), marina view (Fall 2014), and Renaissance (early 2015) all have start dates at the moment. All three have recently gone through the review committee, neighborhood discussions, redeisgns, etc and appear to finally be progressing...a process that certainly isn't free. The townhomes behind it that were just built, from what I know, are fully rented/sold. Sure, there is definitely a bad history there, but it looks like these three big projects are really pushing forward right now.
Along with sugarhouse came redevelopment of the large building across the street that has recording studios, and then the two large warehouses across from the waterfront square buildings (of which I heard have finally rebounded from lack of interest). One of those two buildings on the west side of collumbus is fully finished and rented while the other is almost finished construction. A shit ton of townhomes are coming in all along front street... some in the oddest of locations. The new performance space across from race street pier is finished. And sugarhouse is finally finishing phase 1.
There are recent plans for dense buildings to come to front and callowhill, front and spring garden, canal street development, delaware and fairmount... along with a bunch of other plans that have died but could be revived.
Conversions of old buildings are fully under way with newly built townhomes everywhere along front street... all we haven't seen after the recession hit is any large-scale new construction.My prediction is that if we get at least one of these larger projects to start... likely the marina view one, we are gonna see a domino effect as other developers gain confidence to build.
I think we are on the cusp of a big development movement between BF bridge, frankford ave, delaware, and second.