[McBane]

I'm late to the party here but when I look at this, I'm torn.

On one hand, the design is beautiful. I love the height and the design of the buildings. I also appreciate how the plan "loads up" the density in high rise buildings, allowing for open space.

However, this flies in the face of the Delaware Ave Master Plan. That plan is premised on the idea that there is a finite number of people who will live along the river and best to spread them out in low rise buildings that can populate and rejuvenate the length of the Delaware Ave (at least within Center City) rather then cannibalizing everyone in a couple of high rises surrounded by empty, vacant, and underutilized lots. I believe that plan also included a model to extend the grid over 95/Delaware Ave.

To me, the Delaware Ave Master Plan seems much more realistic - although I recognize it's far less sexy. The Durst plan is a return to the failed logic of the past, i.e., that the riverfront can be fixed by one developer and some fancy drawings.

The best case scenario is that the plan is built in its entirety, which in turns spurs further development along the river. The more plausible scenario is the status quo and if we're lucky, perhaps 1-2 towers get built (definitely shorter ones and valued engineered to death) over the course of the next 5-10 years. Sorry but history has conditioned me be negative when it comes to grand schemes along the riverfront.