PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[Outta here]

A small piece of info I read about dysfunctional comprehension .

I'm not even sure if this is true , but if it is ..... WTF !

If you count all the ( built , under construction , proposed high rise , skyscrapers in Philly , the total comes to something
like 18 buildings over 500' for a city of 134 sq. mi. and roughly some 1,562,000 residents ..... In it's self , not bad , I guess .

BUT , when you compare it to a city roughly 55 sq. mi. and a population of some 430,000 and read where it may have about
50 buildings over 500' .....

Wanna guess what city it is

[wcphil]

Denver?

[Frontst17]

Miami

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Outta here

A small piece of info I read about dysfunctional comprehension .

I'm not even sure if this is true , but if it is ..... WTF !

If you count all the ( built , under construction , proposed high rise , skyscrapers in Philly , the total comes to something
like 18 buildings over 500' for a city of 134 sq. mi. and roughly some 1,562,000 residents ..... In it's self , not bad , I guess .

BUT , when you compare it to a city roughly 55 sq. mi. and a population of some 430,000 and read where it may have about
50 buildings over 500' .....

Wanna guess what city it is

I would assume either Miami or San Francisco. You gotta take into account multiple things when looking at the number of tall buildings in a city like the Metropolitan area size, the economy of the area, the location of the area, any height limits, etc.

Miami and San Francisco both have similar metropolitan area sizes to Philadelphia. Size of the city itself is almost irrelevant due to differing square mileage of city limits. Also, San Francisco and Miami and sitting on water, and are more limited in their land/real estate opportunists. Therefore, instead of having more room to build outward, the only option is to build up. Also, as we all know, the economy of Philadelphia has not been great in the past, and has only recently started to turn around in both population growth and job growth. This will certainly hamper high rise construction. Lastly, Philadelphia essentially had a height limit until 1986/87; the "Gentleman's Agreement" that you could not build higher than City Hall (548' tall). So really, Philadelphia has only been building taller than 500 feet since 1987. Miami and San Francisco have certainly had a head start. Miami has been BOOMING lately when it comes to tall buildings. Let's compare to San Francisco.

Philadelphia
Over 500 feet built before 1986: 2
Over 500 feet built after 1987: 9
Buildings under construction/proposed over 500 feet: 7

San Francisco
Over 500 feet built before 1986: 16
Over 500 feet built after 1987: 3
Buildings under construction/proposed over 500 feet: 9

I'm confident if it wasn't for the "Gentlemen's Agreement" Philadelphia would certainly have more buildings over 500 feet tall as you can see how many San Francisco added prior to 1987. Philadelphia has actually built more post 1987. And their current amount of 500 footers under construction/proposed is very similar.

Miami is a different city and story entirely.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by wcphil

Denver?

Denver only has 7 buildings over 500 feet tall and one under construction and none proposed.

Philadelphia has 11 buildings over 500 feet tall and 3 under construction with 4 proposed.

[summersm343]

Benjamin's Desk expands in Rittenhouse, Old City

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...expands-rittenhouse-old-city-curtis.html

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Benjamin's Desk expands in Rittenhouse, Old City

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...expands-rittenhouse-old-city-curtis.html

I cannot wait to see some of these small companies get strong enough legs to start taking their own office space. These co-working spaces will be transformational for the city.

[jjv007]

Originally Posted by summersm343

I would assume either Miami or San Francisco. You gotta take into account multiple things when looking at the number of tall buildings in a city like the Metropolitan area size, the economy of the area, the location of the area, any height limits, etc.

Miami and San Francisco both have similar metropolitan area sizes to Philadelphia. Size of the city itself is almost irrelevant due to differing square mileage of city limits. Also, San Francisco and Miami and sitting on water, and are more limited in their land/real estate opportunists. Therefore, instead of having more room to build outward, the only option is to build up. Also, as we all know, the economy of Philadelphia has not been great in the past, and has only recently started to turn around in both population growth and job growth. This will certainly hamper high rise construction. Lastly, Philadelphia essentially had a height limit until 1986/87; the "Gentleman's Agreement" that you could not build higher than City Hall (548' tall). So really, Philadelphia has only been building taller than 500 feet since 1987. Miami and San Francisco have certainly had a head start. Miami has been BOOMING lately when it comes to tall buildings. Let's compare to San Francisco.

Philadelphia
Over 500 feet built before 1986: 2
Over 500 feet built after 1987: 9
Buildings under construction/proposed over 500 feet: 7

San Francisco
Over 500 feet built before 1986: 16
Over 500 feet built after 1987: 3
Buildings under construction/proposed over 500 feet: 9

I'm confident if it wasn't for the "Gentlemen's Agreement" Philadelphia would certainly have more buildings over 500 feet tall as you can see how many San Francisco added prior to 1987. Philadelphia has actually built more post 1987. And their current amount of 500 footers under construction/proposed is very similar.

Miami is a different city and story entirely.

Well-thought out post, Summers. Setting 1987 as a date is somewhat arbitrary though in favor of Philadelphia, because right after that is when Philly got I don't know, like 6 towers over 500 ft. in a span of about five years. Since then, things have definitely been relatively slow for both cities in that category until recently. Still, great points and I think they're so many factors so it's hard to compare cities but Philly is definitely on the upswing at this point in time.

[StreetsDept]

The National's got a fun view during construction!

[Boku]

GE said to pick Boston for headquarters

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016...rocess/ZYZSu7GorfVTRXM2ZIaabJ/story.html

Oh well!

GE’s choice cements Boston as a hub of innovation in technology and life sciences. The city’s concentration of high-powered universities and tech firms proved to be a big draw for the company.

I wonder if there was a serious effort to draw them to Philly.

[Flyers2001]

Originally Posted by jjv007

Well-thought out post, Summers. Setting 1987 as a date is somewhat arbitrary though in favor of Philadelphia, because right after that is when Philly got I don't know, like 6 towers over 500 ft. in a span of about five years. Since then, things have definitely been relatively slow for both cities in that category until recently. Still, great points and I think they're so many factors so it's hard to compare cities but Philly is definitely on the upswing at this point in time.

1987 was set because its when the "Gentlemen's Agreement" came to an end. The 6 towers over 500' built right after was the direct result of the cancellation.

What can be concluded by the 1987-1991 boom was there would have been taller high-rises built prior if not for the "agreement".

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Boku

GE said to pick Boston for headquarters

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016...rocess/ZYZSu7GorfVTRXM2ZIaabJ/story.html

Oh well!



I wonder if there was a serious effort to draw them to Philly.

I doubt it. Our city and state government is so short sighted they probably didn't even attempt to contact them.

[summersm343]

Walker & Dunlop to open office in Center City

Another real estate firm is migrating to Philadelphia with an eye toward opening up an office this year.

Walker & Dunlop, which finances multifamily acquisitions and development through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, also has an investment sales division that it is growing and Philadelphia is on its list of cities it wants to venture into.

Interest from institutional players is on the rise in Philadelphia because of several factors, he said. It comes from the city becoming a place where people want to live in spite of its modest job growth. Investors have also found they can find more value here compared with some other gateway cities, such as New York, Washington D.C., or Boston, where prices are high and yields are low. In addition, compared with other cities, it doesn’t appear Philadelphia is getting over built, he said.

He expects to open an office here over the next 12 months and has already started to approach some brokers at area firms but declined to name names. Walker & Dunlop will join a bevy of other commercial real estate firms that have entered the Philadelphia market in recent years.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...ate-firm-seeks-to-plant-presence-in.html

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by summersm343

I doubt it. Our city and state government is so short sighted they probably didn't even attempt to contact them.

True. Harvard, MIT, etc., are great name-dropping assets for Boston, but Philly actually has more higher education institutions than Boston. I do think that Boston did have a geographical advantage. A move from Connecticut made Boston and NY area options the least disruptive.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Walker & Dunlop to open office in Center City


http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...ate-firm-seeks-to-plant-presence-in.html

Hopefully the jobs "chicken" will follow the residential "egg."

[1487]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

Hopefully the jobs "chicken" will follow the residential "egg."

There is job growth here- the issue is the rate. I really don't much stock in to references dropped in articles without any context. Is Philly job growth all that slow compared to other cities in the NE quadrant of the US? I'm not so sure. Is it slow compared to sunbelt cities- very likely.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by 1487

There is job growth here- the issue is the rate. I really don't much stock in to references dropped in articles without any context. Is Philly job growth all that slow compared to other cities in the NE quadrant of the US? I'm not so sure. Is it slow compared to sunbelt cities- very likely.

Yes, it's the rate. Jobs are not driving the residential market, but at some point the residential market is hopefully going to lead to employers locating near their prospective employees.

[summersm343]

Wilma Theater Announces $10M for New Facade, Public Cafe



http://philly.curbed.com/archives/2016/0...edesign-cafe-education-center-facade.php

[kingtut]

Originally Posted by summersm343

I doubt it. Our city and state government is so short sighted they probably didn't even attempt to contact them.

Your right on about that . Our local leaders in the state and local governments are the least sagacious elected representatives anywhere .As far GE HQ was not such a good idea as they would be reminded of their past glory after selling their crown jewel to Comcast when looking up at Comcast /NBC Universal Building.I think Boston was in their design from the very start and they needed to regain some of their lost prestige by having a Boston address .

[summersm343]

9 Presidential Blvd - Bala Cynwyd

More for the City Avenue area. Definitely another step in the right direction in creating a midrise/highrise urban strip between Philadelphia and Montgomery County. 5 story 180,000 sq ft new office building will replace a two story outdated office building with more urban street frontage and retail.



http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/19436363/9-Presidential-Blvd-Bala-Cynwyd-PA/
http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/article...times/news/doc55843b52734bd248388386.txt

400 West Elm - Conshohocken

340,000 sq ft 7 floor office building. Again more positive developments for Conshohocken to add to the 3 tower massive development at Fayette and Elm in Conshy.



http://400westelm.com/

List of 6 massive Philly suburb projects:
https://www.bisnow.com/philadelphia/news...-going-on-in-the-burbs-54524?single-page