PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[reparcsyks]

Great update, TallCoolOne, thanks! Do you know if the development at 22nd & Walnut will have ground-floor retail? If not, it's absolutely criminal that the ZB would allow that.

[Hrytsyu]

Originally Posted by Larry King

I'm going to build some houses near the somerset stop either late this year or early next year, we'll see how it goes. Development along the el is inevitable, just need to the push the dealers out

Every time I've purchased a home, heroin addicts lived in close proximity. It was horrible, but the neighborhoods were ultimately successful.

By that standard, Harrogate and adjacent neighborhoods must be my next destination. I really have no choice. I must follow the junkies. It appears to be my penance or something like that. Anyway, its certain to be great investment.

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by summersm343

100% agree. Anybody who cannot see that Camden is about to pop, is not in the real estate development game. Good developers are always looking for the next best spot.

The places gentrifying now are Fishtown, East Kensington, "Olde Richmond", "Olde Kensington", Loft District/Callowhill, Mantua, Walnut Hill, Cedar Park, Garden Court, West Powelton, Brewerytown, Templetown, Francisville, Spring Arts, Point Breeze and the Dickinson Narrows.

The places about to pop (and in some respects already have) are: Port Richmond, Norris Square, Sharswood, West Powelton, "The area between Temple Main and Temple Health Sciences Campus", Grays Ferry, Germantown, Downtown/Waterfront of Wilmington and Camden.

I am in full belief too, that in the next year or two we will see a turn around of Marcus Hook, Chester, and all areas surrounding it as the Marcellus Shale pipeline brings thousands of jobs to the area.

I would also throw Belmont, East Parkside, and some of the middle portions of Strawberry Mansion into that lineup of neighborhoods. I 100% agree with everything else though, especially Norris Square. I'll be out of college before these neighborhoods take off, so I want to get into the action before the inevitable happens.

It's also funny that you mentioned Chester. I'm in Chester frequently, as I have been taking the Wilmington/Newark Line over the Media/Elwyn as of late. One thing that I have noticed is that many of the previously shuttered storefronts on Avenue of the States are now art galleries. The arts scene usually foreshadows the eventual comeback of an area. I'll have to take pictures and post them on the Metro Developments thread once I get the chance!

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by mja

Port Richmond is absolutely going to become a 'hot' neighborhood, and sooner rather than later, and way before anything similar happens in Camden. It's an intact working-to-middle class neighborhood with decent bones and a certain amount of charm.

What do people think the 'boundaries' are for Port Richmond?
The part that I think of that runs along Aramingo Ave. is extremely car focused, more like a suburb then the City. But toward the river and Richmond Ave. it is much more like City neighborhood, with the addition of some remaining larger industrial sites. (including a nice little place that makes smoked sausage)
Charm? To each their own!
A draw back is the lack of good SEPTA service.

[Nova08]

It's behind the paywall but the PBJ is reporting that Target will open a 5th Philly location in Northern Liberties.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Nova08

It's behind the paywall but the PBJ is reporting that Target will open a 5th Philly location in Northern Liberties.

Have they officially announced the store going into Lincoln Square or is that still just a rumor?

I can't believe the push they're making into the region and city proper. I here most of stores are feeling the impact of cannibalization. I'd be curious to know what their long term thinking is behind all this expansion.

[Kidphilly]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Have they officially announced the store going into Lincoln Square or is that still just a rumor?

I can't believe the push they're making into the region and city proper. I here most of stores are feeling the impact of cannibalization. I'd be curious to know what their long term thinking is behind all this expansion.

in the old structure will be a west coast fresh grocer I believe

[McBane]

A few points re Camden:

1) Brewerytown and Port Richmond are farther from CC than Camden yes. But in between Camden and Old City is nothing, a river. In between Brewerytown and Port Richmond and Center City are thriving neighborhoods. So yea, maybe Brewertown is a bit out there but it's super close to Fairmount but much cheaper.

2) Someone here correctly pointed out some of the recent restaurant/bar/cafe openings in Port Richmond. Brewerytown is getting an offshoot of Pizza Brain and already has SpotBurger, RyeBrew and Crime and Punishment brewery. Go on Yelp and you'll see that Camden has virtually nothing.

3) Camden needs a committed developer. Someone like John Longacre who simultaneously invested in both real estate AND bars in Point Breeze and nowhere else. Ori Fiebush has been doing the same. Both are mid-size developers who are totally invested in a single neighborhood. Beyond investing, they've cleaned up lots, brought in beer gardens, and doing everything they can to promote the neighborhood (not altruistically of course). Camden had Dranoff for a quick minute but he has move on.

4) IF Camden is able to turn itself around, it will need to happen from NJ-residents looking for a pioneering, urban experience. I wouldn't count on Philly residents (esp PA residents) to move to the other side. I just don't see why someone getting priced out of Center City would move to Camden as opposed to any of the gentrifying neighborhoods in Philly.

[summersm343]

Target to open yet another store in Philadelphia

In its push to expand into urban markets, Target Corp. has signed a lease to open its fifth small format store in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood.

The retailer signed a lease on 47,000 square feet at 456 N. 5th St., a building that used to house Destination Maternity and is under redevelopment. Target (NYSE: TGT) said it intends to open the store in July 2018.

That the retailer is opening a Target in Northern Liberties says as much about its aggressiveness to capture market share as it does about the growth of Philadelphia and neighborhoods outside the Center City core.

“Target went from seeing the site to signing a lease in less than 60 days,” said Richard Previdi, managing partner at Alliance HSP, a Bryn Mawr, Pa., real estate company.

The Target lease also means that the building, which has 185,000 square feet of leasable space, is now fully occupied. Other tenants include Yards Brewing Co., which will move into 69,762 square feet, and the Philadelphia Department of Records and Archives, which signed a lease to move into 67,868 square feet. Both tenants are expected to occupy their respective spaces late this year.

Alliance HSP plans to hold onto the building for the long term and continues to look for other opportunities within the city.

In the meantime, Target continues to look for other opportunities in Philadelphia and has reportedly signed a lease to occupy space at Lincoln Square on South Broad Street at Washington Avenue. It operates 36 of these small-format stores and anticipates opening more than 100 over the next three years.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...ning-store-northern-liberties-yards.html

[1487]

^nice. These kinds of things make urban neighborhoods more livable for families. Many folks in and around Center City used to go to South Philly for basic shopping needs outside of food and drink. I will say the Target on east chestnut is too small, not sure why they didn't lease more space when it was available. The 19th/chestnut store has more stuff.

[br323206]

Originally Posted by McBane

A big difference between Camden/Philly and Jersey City/NYC is that NY is so ridiculously expensive - and its expensive neighborhoods cover a huge area that drives people across the river. Conversely, those who are priced out of Center City have a bevvy of cheaper options that have much better connectivity to Center City than Camden. Neighborhoods further afield like Brewerytown and Port Richmond are gentrifying before Camden.

One reason for that of course is that proximity is important but a neighborhood can't rely on that alone. A major driver of gentrification are a neighborhood's dining/drinking scene. It may start off with a small gastropub or coffee shop, but it grows from there. Camden doesn't have that.

But the biggest difference is simply that NYC is in a class of its own. It's really, really hard to compare NYC with any other city in N. America. Heck, just look at SF, which is arguably the second most desirable city in the US - how much of that success has rubbed off on Oakland?

Not only has SF rubbed off on Oakland in a huge way but I can think of several smaller cities that have had their success rub off on their "across the river" counterparts. Cincinnati, for example, is much smaller and less economically vibrant than Philly but has seen lots of revitalization of its downtown core over the past decade and that development has spilled across the river to Covington and Newport, Kentucky. These two smaller cities across the Ohio River reminded me a lot of Camden ten to fifteen years ago and the both now have a vibrant dining/bar scene and lots of new apartments popping up. They benefit from having better pedestrian connections and more bridges to downtown Cincinnati but they lack the PATCO connection that we have here, which is a huge asset. It's so easy to get from Camden to Center City by train.

[Urbanthusiat]

I love all the action in the Callowhill area. The destination maternity building will be a great anchor, with Yards Brewing and now Target. Looks like they aren't erasing anymore in the Eraserhood. I can't wait for Northern Liberties, Chinatown, Old City, and Spring Garden to be connected by a thriving neighborhood. Here's to hoping for that big project on Broad and Spring Garden gets developed.

[Nova08]

Originally Posted by summersm343

100% agree. Anybody who cannot see that Camden is about to pop, is not in the real estate development game. Good developers are always looking for the next best spot.

The places gentrifying now are Fishtown, East Kensington, "Olde Richmond", "Olde Kensington", Loft District/Callowhill, Mantua, Walnut Hill, Cedar Park, Garden Court, West Powelton, Brewerytown, Templetown, Francisville, Spring Arts, Point Breeze and the Dickinson Narrows.

The places about to pop (and in some respects already have) are: Port Richmond, Norris Square, Sharswood, West Powelton, "The area between Temple Main and Temple Health Sciences Campus", Grays Ferry, Germantown, Downtown/Waterfront of Wilmington and Camden.

I am in full belief too, that in the next year or two we will see a turn around of Marcus Hook, Chester, and all areas surrounding it as the Marcellus Shale pipeline brings thousands of jobs to the area.

I agree that Camden is headed in the right direction but I still think it will take time. What is the current (and future) residential situation like for the area bounded by the river, BF bridge, Haddon ave, and MLK Blvd? And you can probably take that border a bit south to cover the area around Cooper.

I ask because take a look at the Navy Yard. 10,000+ workers, a major hotel chain, and within a few hundred yards of 3 major sport/concert venues. Yet there is only one full service restaurant. Many workers actually use the hotel lobby as a coffee spot because the lobby is a Starbucks contract location.

What is missing in the Navy Yard is the 24 hour / 7 day a week residential element. It's great that businesses are relocating to Camden, but you also need the residential component. For the weekends when most students are not at Rutgers and workers are not in the office or in the winter when the number of concerts drops dramatically.

[mja]

Originally Posted by City Wide

What do people think the 'boundaries' are for Port Richmond?
The part that I think of that runs along Aramingo Ave. is extremely car focused, more like a suburb then the City. But toward the river and Richmond Ave. it is much more like City neighborhood, with the addition of some remaining larger industrial sites. (including a nice little place that makes smoked sausage)
Charm? To each their own!
A draw back is the lack of good SEPTA service.

As an outsider who has nonetheless had plenty of occasion to visit the neighborhood, there's plenty of working-class charm between Richmond & Aramingo. It's really not all that different than parts of South Philly, they just sell Kielbasa instead of Prosciutto.

[summersm343]

Community College expands in West Philly to train more mechanics for high-tech cars

Community College of Philadelphia plans to boost the size of the automotive-technology training facility at its West Philadelphia campus to sustain enrollment by offering a pathway to increasingly brainy jobs servicing cars and trucks.

The 37,000-square-foot expansion will be built using a site of about two-thirds of an acre acquired from a benefactor, former nursing-home executive Daniel Veloric, north of the college’s auto-tech program building near 48th and Ludlow Streets.

Read more here:
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/re...expanding-in-West-Philly-to-better-.html

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by Nova08

I agree that Camden is headed in the right direction but I still think it will take time. What is the current (and future) residential situation like for the area bounded by the river, BF bridge, Haddon ave, and MLK Blvd? And you can probably take that border a bit south to cover the area around Cooper.

I ask because take a look at the Navy Yard. 10,000+ workers, a major hotel chain, and within a few hundred yards of 3 major sport/concert venues. Yet there is only one full service restaurant. Many workers actually use the hotel lobby as a coffee spot because the lobby is a Starbucks contract location.

What is missing in the Navy Yard is the 24 hour / 7 day a week residential element. It's great that businesses are relocating to Camden, but you also need the residential component. For the weekends when most students are not at Rutgers and workers are not in the office or in the winter when the number of concerts drops dramatically.

Yes, it will take time. Buccini Pollin has been working hard to make Wilmington 'happen.' There is progress, but it's slow. Camden may be faster because of proximity to Philadelphia, but it's not going to pop overnight. It's going to take some time to sell residents on it and for residences, retail, restaurants, and entertainment to follow the businesses that are relocating there.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Kidphilly

in the old structure will be a west coast fresh grocer I believe

Right, but there were also some reports that a Target would be included as well, taking up most of the second floor of the new development.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by 1487

^nice. These kinds of things make urban neighborhoods more livable for families. Many folks in and around Center City used to go to South Philly for basic shopping needs outside of food and drink. I will say the Target on east chestnut is too small, not sure why they didn't lease more space when it was available. The 19th/chestnut store has more stuff.

As long as they can offer more than drugstores and don't have half their space dedicated to Starbucks, mini Targets can be very helpful for household basics.

[PhilliesPhan]

When I went for a run earlier, I noticed a few intriguing things:

1.) Does anyone know of a project occurring at 5th and Cecil B. Moore? I saw a drilling rig on site to do soil testing as I turned onto 5th Street.

2.) There is a ton of land cleared and fenced north of 5th and Spring Garden. Will that consist of more rowhomes or will it be a denser development?

3.) When I started on the Ben Franklin Bridge to NJ, I noticed that equipment is on-site and actually moving dirt at the old Whitman chocolate factory at 4th and Race! I don't know if this has been previously mentioned in this forum, but I was excited because I had no idea that it was going on.

4.) When I was running through Camden, I noticed that New Street had a ton of new rowhomes! I thought it was cool to see development occurring outside of Cooper Grant and the waterfront.

[Philly-Drew]

Damn dude! I wish I could run like that!