For sure. Thompson street between 5th and 7th is def getting developed. There's a lot of PHA stuff there, absolutely. It didn't stop development in Francisville though so hopefully it won't stop this area too much either.

There's also a lot of PHA areas in SM too. Both areas will have their challenges bc they don't have a subway or trolley line.

All that said, SM is beautiful. Some of those houses right now the park are stunning. There's definitely an audience who would love to live in houses like that.

Pricey townhouses planned at former Lombard St. garage site near Rittenhouse Square

http://www2.philly.com/philly/busine...-20181011.html

On occasion, Waze navigates me to Fishtown/Kensington (from Manayunk) via Henry Ave to Allegheny to 2nd Street to Master. It's crazy (in a good way) how gentrification is slowly creeping further north and west into what are considered some of Philadelphia's poorest and most violent neighborhoods.

It will be interesting to see where the momentum from Kensington goes. Will people be reluctant to go further away from Center City and past the formidable barrier of Lehigh Ave (and its sketchy overpasses)? Or will the overall stability and safety of Port Richmond be more inviting than the areas immediately to the west towards Temple?

^ all of the above

I feel like a broken record, but:
These look nice, wish they were taller.

Really? For 2.8MM, a very boring design, cookie cutter looking home similar to the next one and next one. Further, Maybe I'm bias, I see Bridgeview on columbus blvd pretty often and that was pretty disappointing. For example, the stained wood they used on the exterior faded in 6 months.

I rather take my 2.8 and buy a place in the Laurel if I won the lottery or something. :yes:

I blows me away too -- and I live in the area. BTW -- there is biggest, new development going past Lehigh now. The development is following the subway lines throughout the entire city. We even see development along trolley lines which is why I suspect part of the reason that Girard has been getting more development than Spring Garden.

I still think Norris Square is probably the next big "it" area bc of its location. And it has a lot of housing stock in good condition which will make it like a modern day Fairmont or Fishtown, looks-wise. I'm not sure about SM, West Kensington, or Port Richmond bc they are all a bit isolated from transit. Same is true for Del Ave.

Kensington between Girard and Cecil B Moore (South/Olde Kensington) is very safe. I'd argue Kensington between Cecil B and Lehigh (Norris Square) is also very safe. It really is sketchy only above Lehigh, particularly west/northwest of the EL.

It used to be sketchy east the the EL west of Frankford below Lehigh (East Kensington), but no more.

WuXi AppTec adds another building at the Navy Yard

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...navy-yard.html

Between this and Spark at SY, a pretty good day for the future of the Life Sciences sector in Philly

Riverwards is doing a 32 unit project at 5th and Norris.. I mean even a year ago that would be considered way out there. I think that whole area of Kensington north Cecil B (below is already spoken for) bt. Temple and N Front has a ton going for it bc it has multiple transit options (El, Temple stop, Broad St line is 5 minute bike ride away). And most important of all, tons of vacant land to develop.. that is the real important factor bc obviously the more vacant the quicker it fills up. Norris Sq does not have a ton of vacant land so I think the change won't be as profound there as on the westside of American St. Ps interesting read below:

https://billypenn.com/2018/10/11/the...ized-corridor/

https://i.imgur.com/6YYAXII.jpg

A solid low-rise office. Fits in well at the Navy Yard. Love to see it fill out more. All the more reason to extend the subway!

Yeah, I used to think this would be a useless waste of resources but business growth at the Navy Yard seems pretty solid (and businesses seem to enjoy being there, by all accounts) so I'd love to see this happen. No idea how many people commute to the Navy Yard from the suburbs, but the subway extension could be the incentive some of them need to move into the city and commute that way instead of driving...

I generally agree. I'd prefer businesses to locate in the core, but the fact is that not all businesses want to be in the urban core, especially those with large, specialized machinery like WuXi. It's a good thing that Philly can offer different types of office to suit the needs of a wider range of businesses.

At approaching 15,000 workers (IIRC), people are coming from everywhere. The Navy Yard shuttles are very popular.

The lone restaurant, Amis, seems to do pretty well at lunch, happy hour, and even dinner. With the addition of a second hotel and hopefully residential buildings in the future, hopefully the NY will fully round out as 24/7/365 location.

Funny you all should mention extending the BSL...
Philly's New Transportation Plan: CONNECT
https://whyy.org/articles/killing-se...ortation-plan/

What's this about Spark?

$2.8 million does not go nearly as far at the Laurel. You get a lot more space and house here. But I agree the design of these is blah and lackluster. I'm sure they'll be great places to live, and this is good for the city. But the exterior is fairly lousy. Atrium did a FAR better job with the Novo development near the Mormon church. http://www.atriumdesigngroup.com/portfolio/novo/

Thought it could be a commitment to space in one of the larger SY buildings, but it just appears to be more details about their plans for space they already signed for in the Bulletin building back at the end of 2017

I find it hard to believe that such a spacious, over-the-top luxury home can be housed in such an ugly, cheap looking exterior. Regardless, another point to consider is that high rise living (read: shared spaces) isn't for everyone, especially in Philadelphia where there such a large inventory of townhouses, both old and new. No doubt at this price point, condo fees (which are probably more than most of our rents/mortgages) are a negligible difference but it's still worth mentioning that could be a factor for some buyers.

JSBrook and McBane- I'm just not a fan of town-homes in the city. Personally, I don't like multi-level living and a small rectangular footprint (e.g., 15x40) and these homes butting up to the street with small sidewalks and no privacy. True story-a guy was charging his cell phone for well over an hour on my outlet outside of my front entrance. Creepy. With a town home, you get 3-5 floors and yes you get the square footage, but I'm a fan of large floor plates like 1500sq ft to 2000sq ft in a 2-3 bedroom and small office configuration with a large open kitchen/dining/living area. Plus having skyline views is a bonus. Doesn't have to be the highest floors. 2.8 MM can't get me that in the Laurel. I'm not asking for the penthouse...LOL.