On the other hand, that solid, windowless cladding might be relatively easy to remove and replace or modify, and they could be holding off until they can lease the space behind it and determine tenant needs, build-out budgets, etc.

Wow. The one story redbrick photo (not the gorgeous renderings) looks like dog shit. If you guys think that looks nice than you are operating on a different plane of existence than those of us with taste.

^
Oh, you rather prefer the original concrete looking slab in its place. Some of us said relative. Others said the rendering showing the brick. You conflated the two.

Didn't know your aesthetic skills were above all of us...LOL.

Honestly I only care about two things:

1. Does the finished product activate the street?
2. Is the interior experiance fresh and modern?

For people who never venture into the reborn Gallery it will simply fade into an amalgamation with all the other 1970s refits they have seen in their lives.

TBH the redbrick façade clashes ludicrously with the retained concrete (limestone?) panels above. It's such a bizarre juxtaposition it actually made me stop and stare and gave me giggling fits when I passed by it the other day.

This whole reno feels like they're cutting every corner they can get away with, tbh.

Thanks and You're Welcome...now that I have figured out how to post pictures I will do regular updates of the FDP.

It definitely looks like this is not going to be what we hoped for. Much of the second floor "windows" along Market Street look to just be spaces to put ads, not glass windows opening into the stores.

Are you at all surprised that would happen?

I see white people

And some of the same white people in the same exact positions in the two renderings. Lazy. Do they just take photos of random crowds/street scenes and Photoshop them in? Some of the renderings look like they use original drawings of people, but these certainly don't.

The red brick looks uber 80's to me. It's better than what was there, but I agree it's quite a clash to what is directly above.

Sorry to be negative but I think this looks terrible. It's like a combination antarctic research station and a 20th century suburban sprawl nightmare.

Chinatown is invaded...


One thought on the brick and location with Filbert. Filbert is tight (haven't seen in person the new brick) but this might just work, unlike Market (larger more grand) on the street and close brick may make the space feel more scaled down to fit the street size and most definitely fits to a Philly feel (now materials finish etc all play but am not opposed to brick and trying to fit the scale on this side of the complex)

Answer: yes. Also, who gives a shit? The rendering is showing the building, everything else is less than relevant context.

I'd prefer them to do a renovation that didn't look like dog shit - which is where we are heading.

Well, I do. I mean I don't stay up late paging through renderings on the internet, but I pay attention when I am browsing this forum. Some renderings look like they actually drew or painted the people (maybe those are just photoshops too) and seem much more professional and slick. People like me pay attention to the details and judge the projects based on the quality of the renderings (cut-rate render, cut-rate architect, cut-rate developer). And I would bet that most people register the quality of the renderings on some subconscious level.

I really don't how anyone can spend this much money on something and not do at least a decent job of it. Part of the reason they are rehabing it, is that it was esthetically challenged. Do they really expect to have it work economically, become a destination, without putting at least minimal effort into making it look good?
This was the original 70s 80s thinking.. today there are class act competitors, right across the street even :-)
Still praying that at some point they at least clean the upper levels.

It's tricky to make brick work with anything else. Not sure what they were thinking with this. Oh well. I guess we'll see how it turns out.

While the drawing is unrealistic and certainly what's actually being built is subpar and far below it in quality, I don't see whey there cannot be some space open to the air as depicted on the second floor. They are fully covered. They can put tables out there and use it for outdoor dining. It looks to be part of a restaurant space. Maybe it could not be used in the rain, with rain blowing sideways, but otherwise the space can be used. This may not be the project to do it given how shitty-looking it is shaping up, but al fresco dining is great.

Boutique bookstore opening in Rittenhouse. Good concept.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/...this-year.html

Happy to see this!