A major interior renovation to 30th St. Station needs to happen. It has such great potential to be an impressive gateway for rail commuters to and from Philly. It doesn't help in the impression department for those coming by rail to visit Philly or for those that use it to commute regularly. So much going on around this area, wish this would get some attention soon.

Indeed, that has been explicitly identified as the site of the first tower to be built:

Drexel outlines ambitious plans to build business-residential enclave

This would be sexy skin for the tallest one in the group.

http://www.shoparc.com/wp-content/up.../12/w57_03.jpg

It will - both new retail offerings and new passenger spaces. Unfortunately it just takes Amtrak much longer to get anything done. Drexel and Brandywine are much better, institutionally, at leading the charge.

You should go to the open house for the District Plan on March 16. There should be more details about the station and the rail yards development, beyond this first phase "Schuylkill Yards" (which isn't a rail yard at all).

For everyone's benefit, a few clarifications on points that have been raised....

- Cira II, Firestone, and the sites around Caneris/University Crossings are all shown in their existing condition. This is because the boundary of "Schuylkill Yards" does not include them, not because the plan is to leave them undeveloped. As has been mentioned, Cira II is still a possibility once Amtrak (who owns the site/rail below) gets its act together. There are obviously intentions for Firestone as well.

- The High Line isn't going anywhere. Park spaces and small buildings may go beneath the rail, but the rail itself will remain. There just isn't a realistic alternative for CSX to relocate its operations.

- The "Schuylkill Yards" name was also given to the broader rail yards development in a 2011 PennPlanning studio report. I don't think this is a coincidence. http://www.phillymag.com/property/20...e-penn-drexel/

A minor thing, but cool in my opinion:

One thing that makes NYC cool is that it can seem like the city goes on forever when you look down streets. Currently, if you look down JFK in Philly it is obvious that the city "ends" beyond 30th Street Station. This will fill in that space and make you feel like the city fully envelopes you.

Thanks, mom!

More gold!

when is the last time you looked down JFK? Lancaster Square does exactly what you are suggesting: http://hiddencityphila.org/wp-conten...nb_jfkblvd.jpg

I agree these buildings could definitely enhance that feeling of "extending the city"

[QUOTE=japmes;7357170]The extra 400 feet is for the rooftop village.;)

I mentioned it in the Development thread but I figured I'd toss it in here too:

I think the Bulliten building would be a great place for Carpenter Technology to locate its corporate HQ, as we recently heard it was looking to move from Reading to Philly. It seems like a good fit for the Drexel/corporate partnership thing they're going for since Carpenter could recruit business and engineering students from Drexel.

To further preach to the choir, I just love the potential of Philly and University City in particular. Having a strong innovation/knowledge economy really is a great way of sticking to the city's heritage as a center of culture and learning. If this gets built I have to imagine University City becomes the unrivaled second-best (after Cambridge of course) innovation district in the U.S. I can easily see Philly (re)emerging as the globally elite city it was always meant to be. The social and physical infrastructure of Center City is certainly on-par (and perhaps even better in certain areas) with that of NYC, Boston, Chicago, DC, San Fran, and LA - the only U.S. cities I would call "globally elite."

I'm also really excited about the Apple rumor. That'd be a HUGE boost in attracting other companies - who doesn't want to be close to one of the biggest companies in the world? I'll admit I had been fantasizing over the thought of "Google East" before the plan was even released, but I'll settle for Apple. Does anyone else like the sound of "Silicon Alley?" :tup:

Agreed. Center City, except on S. Broad near city hall, and the densest areas on Walnut and Chestnut, always seemed very compact. The first time I ever felt that "Manhattan effect" was when I worked on Rittenhouse Square and the large Wharton "round tower" construction was becoming visible 20 blocks away. Those sorts of views are getting more noticeable in more directions.

Amazing proposal! BTW Silicon Alley has been around for a very long time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Alley

You're absolutely right that Lancaster Square helped out a lot. I was really excited about it for this same reason. But these added towers will really complete that view and exaggerate the effect.

I had a feeling it was too clever and obvious to have not been used already. Sigh.

The tallest looks to be 2.25-2.5x the size of Evo.

http://cdn.phillymag.com/wp-content/...3/IMG_0151.jpg

Phillycon Valley
Schuylkillcon Valley
CheesesteakWithProvolone Valley
ZooBalloon Valley

C'mon, we can do this!

Silijawn Valley

I vote for Phillycon Valley: pronouncing it as Phila-con. It sounds better.

I dunno...get "con" in "Phila"...doesn't exactly convey trust in a business transaction...if an agreement or contract doesn't get signed even if the proposed transaction was bona fide...runaway: