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Nice. i hope Pearl Properties does something special with it. With mortgage rates up, the renters scene might get a second look from those that normally would buy.

Incredible news. I am so sick of this hole. Toll is the absolute worst.

Pearl has some pretty nice buildings on S. Broad and Rittenhouse. They also own 801 Chestnut over by Jeweler's Row. Would be great if they became more invested in the area - it's got a lot of potential.

Not 801 Chestnut — that’s Philadelphia Parking Authority and essentially part of the would-have-been Disney Hole site.

I had a feeling Toll would sell this plot.

But what a disgrace when a locally based homebuilder worth BILLIONS plots a shady demolition, sits on the land for years then sells... I was hoping Toll would redeem themselves with the Broad & Noble project and a thoughtful redesign of this project. In the end, better they sell to a developer that will get it done.

Once again - we need a law on the books that prohibits demolition until funding is secured, permits in hand, etc. It's not a difficult concept.

Do other cities have anything like this?

again, is that even legal? Probably not.

Pearl at least seems to give a damn about what they do.

The only thing I'm wondering about is if the plan permits are still active with the tax abatement from when they were filed (2021?). I believe if the plans are changed then the tax abatement will be updated. I'm not sure if design can be changed while keeping the rest the same without triggering the abatement update if anyone happens to know.

I don’t know except that commercial buildings are still eligible for the full 10-year abatement. Are rental apartment buildings considered commercial for property tax abatement purposes? I believe Pearl does all rentals, not condos.

Toll Brothers is retreating from Jewelers Row, business group says | Philadelphia Inquirer

“Jim Pearlstein, who is the president of Pearl Properties, reached out to me directly” to say they had acquired the site, said Rich Goldberg, president of the Jewelers Row District.

Goldberg said that Pearl Properties does not have exact plans yet, but that construction could begin as early as mid-2023.

Why would it not be legal? What would prevent a city from adding regulations to the demo permitting process? I assume to get a demo permit, certain conditions have to be met - at a minimum, I would guess one has to show ownership and that they've satisfied certain safety requirements.

Not being snarky but coming from a genuine desire to understand.

How is this NOT legal? How is it perfectly legal to destroy the fabric of a city and then walk away -- see Disney and Toll?

I'm not sure if it's not legal, but it's definitely not practical. Do we really want the City reviewing developer's finances to approve a demolition? That sounds like a big overreach and a waste of resources. L&I is going to hire a real estate finance professional to make a determination whether or not a developer is adequately capitalized to approve demolition? That's crazytown. Besides potentially breaking confidentiality agreements with banks and whatnot over non-closed potential loans. There's a ton of development that takes place where the developer will start a project with their own equity and then close on a loan shortly after beginning construction. This kind of regulation would create an chicken and the egg scenario for financing where a bank isn't going to want to commit with their being an additional layer of discretionary approval over the demolition of a property for new development, and then the city isn't going to want to approve the demolition without a firm commitment which is tough to get without guarantees about the demolition which is tough to get without... and so on. For a pro-development forum this is a very anti-development proposal.

We already have a process to protect buildings from being demoed - historic designation. The City failed to do that here. That's on them. I don't think we need to create a new process with a ton of question marks for something we can already do. It was the City that failed to act here folks, that's who we should be upset with. Covid hit and this project got stalled but of course developers are going to try to maximize their money, we shouldn't be surprised at that. The City is the one with the power over the playing field, and they shouldn't be upset when the players play the game within the rules they created. Hopefully we learn and are more proactive about protecting properties that are worth protecting.

The part I don't get is how Toll doesn't see the value in developing this land. There is a strong market for high-end rentals (City Living division of Toll) and even high-end condos. Toll would have hit the sweet spot with condos because their pricing is high, but not stratospheric like The Laurel (starting at $2M). Condos starting around $1M in an A+ location would draw in a lot of buyers. Seems more like a typical underscore of the Center City buying market vs. a smart business move.

Meanwhile the City Living sector of Toll sees money at Broad & Noble...

But agree, there is some misplaced blame. Once again the city seems to escape blame for this mess... similar to the U City Townhomes mess.

Just to Clarify, City Living is Toll’s Condo division: https://www.tollbrotherscityliving.com/about

…and Toll Brothers Apartment Living® is Toll’s rental apartment division: https://www.tollbrothersapartmentliving.com/leadership/

Broad & Noble is by their Apartment Living division. The Jewelers’ Row condo plan was a City Living project.

^ Ah thanks! I had it all backwards.

Jewelers' Row merchants 'very pleased' by Pearl Properties purchase of vacant Toll Brothers site

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

With a new building possibly under construction by mid-2023, it's "one of the better case scenarios" as Jewelers' Row businesses recover from Covid-19 fallout, Goldberg said.

Goldberg said Pearlstein’s plans aren’t finalized but the developer would take the next six months to work on the plan and could start construction around that time.

Fort Washington-based Toll Brothers planned for its project to have 63 condos and stand 307 feet tall. The future development could be something similar to what Toll Brothers proposed with luxury residential units and retail or a restaurant on the ground floor, Goldberg said.