PHILADELPHIA | American Commerce Center | 1,510' Pinnacle / 1,210' Roof | 63 FLOORS

[volguus zildrohar]

A lot of these parcels, particularly large ones, would already qualify for certain tax credits. I have to go back and do some homework on exactly what those may be (KOZ-related, I'm sure). Of course, it would still come back to how profitable the plot would be. There's a reason all the rehabs are happening within a 2 mile circle of Center City - there are virtually no other places in Philadelphia appealling to development. Empty, abandoned homes almost automatically become Section 8 housing by right, large post-industrial buildings are too large to rehab or demolish and empty plots often lie in unattractive areas. There are other factors that need to be addressed first or at least in equal measure to developing these slices of brown/green. It took moving heaven and earth to get the Park West development done in Parkside because the real estate was simply not attractive and the same applies to thousands of such parcels across Philadelphia.