PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[skyhigh07]

Was waking to Reading Terminal the other day. There was some kind of huge international conference from people all around the world at the convention center. It was nice to see. Bad news was there were lots of druggies and homeless around as well. Probably the most I’ve seen there in awhile. I could tell that that attendees kind of noticed - sort of embarrassing. Hope the city can address some of the issues in that area.

[therealdawk]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

Was waking to Reading Terminal the other day. There was some kind of huge international conference from people all around the world at the convention center. It was nice to see. Bad news was there were lots of druggies and homeless around as well. Probably the most I’ve seen there in awhile. I could tell that that attendees kind of noticed - sort of embarrassing. Hope the city can address some of the issues in that area.

Ah ha. I saw a bunch of people with white shirts and blue pants but I wasn't sure what was going on.
I'm still not sure exactly who they were but there were a lot of them.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by therealdawk

Ah ha. I saw a bunch of people with white shirts and blue pants but I wasn't sure what was going on.
I'm still not sure exactly who they were but there were a lot of them.

I think it was a medical related convention.

[japmes]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

I think it was a medical related convention.

I thought it was Jehovah's Witness convention.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by japmes

I thought it was Jehovah's Witness convention.

O Haha. I guess that explains the outfits.

I just remember seeing something social media about a medical convention in early August.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

I don't disagree that rents are absurd in New York City but I pay about $2400 per month for a 600 - 650 square foot apartment in New Rochelle with central air and a view of the Long Island Sound. The building is only about a 10 minute walk from the Amtrak/Metro North station (35 minute ride to Grand Central). The building is about 1 1/2 years old and has beautiful amenities and a very nice roof deck (with views of both Manhattan and the Long Island Sound). We all wish rents were less but this seems very reasonable to me, about the same or less than I would pay for something similar in DC.

DC is NUTS as well.

[Raja]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

O Haha. I guess that explains the outfits.

I just remember seeing something social media about a medical convention in early August.

You're both right. There was an Alzheimer's Association convention a week ago (source: I read their lanyards), and this past week there's definitely been some sort of religious convention (source: The new group's lanyards say "spread the good news").

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

It appears that construction on the Beury Building at Broad and Germantown may have commenced. Someone posted a picture of the building with a seemingly new construction elevator on the building’s north face. I may go out and confirm if tonight’s run takes me that way.

Originally Posted by ok-ez

that's been there a year or two. they used it to stabilize the roof

The Beury project is stalled, according to Bisnow:
Commercial Construction Projects Keep Being Abandoned. Reviving Them Could Take Years |Bisnow
Excerpt:

With demolition dust settled, permits in place and crews set to begin work, developer Shift Capital was finally ready to move forward on plans to construct hundreds of hotel rooms aimed at serving patient families and others from two nearby hospitals.

The project would have been the only hotel in that part of North Philadelphia to meet a growing market. But just as construction was gearing up and executives were preparing to sign loan paperwork, lenders pulled funding “at the eleventh hour,” according to principal Nancy Gephart.
The $70M project remains in limbo, the victim of spiking insurance rates and other costs that meant the project no longer penciled.

Discussions at P.I.C.H.: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Phil...06360449652580

[ColdJay64]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

Was waking to Reading Terminal the other day. There was some kind of huge international conference from people all around the world at the convention center. It was nice to see. Bad news was there were lots of druggies and homeless around as well. Probably the most I’ve seen there in awhile. I could tell that that attendees kind of noticed - sort of embarrassing. Hope the city can address some of the issues in that area.

I thought this area was always kind of bad for that? Which is a shame since it sees so many tourists.

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by ColdJay64

I thought this area was always kind of bad for that? Which is a shame since it sees so many tourists.

Yeah I’m over there now and then. People were “camping” under the statues. Might have been because of all the rain lately. Not a great first impression of the city for people.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Yeah. The city strikes me as having a split personality right now. The look of health from so much development, and the look of sickness from quality of life and social issues.

[ColdJay64]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

Yeah I’m over there now and then. People were “camping” under the statues. Might have been because of all the rain lately. Not a great first impression of the city for people.

It seems like some days are better than others too. I was in CC all day about a week ago with my fiancee... saw literally no antisocial behaviors, maybe like 2-3 unhoused people the whole time, and thinks looked awesome and how they should. I was thrilled.

Then this past Saturday we went to the Rittenhouse Farmer's Market... guy on drugs leaning outside of Lululemon, dude threatening people (including a mom and her two kids) with a broken wine glass stem at 17th and Walnut, guy walking through the Square screaming, and that usual old homeless guy harrasing outdoor diners for money at Via Locusta... all this was in a 20 minute window. 99% of the time my impression is that things are better than what people describe online, this time I left CC feeling pretty dejected.

[202_Cyclist]

We're going to be visiting Philly next weekend with our kids. Does anyone know how to get discounted tickets for the Franklin Institute? Our son loves Legos and we want to take him to the Lego exhibit.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

Yeah. The city strikes me as having a split personality right now. The look of health from so much development, and the look of sickness from quality of life and social issues.

People too easily forget that big cities like Philly have long been the "dumping ground" for those experiencing things like homelessness, drug addiction and mental health issues, because suburban areas just don't have anywhere near the same social services infrastructure (and very often, political will) to handle such things.

It's a decades-old and completely unfair imbalance, whereby the vast affluent suburbs don't pull anywhere close to their weight in offering social services. But you'll barely hear anyone acknowledge that reality in many conversations, political debates, or media representations.

All this to say, we have to stop framing these challenges as a "big, poorly-run city" issue. It's an American issue.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

Yeah. The city strikes me as having a split personality right now. The look of health from so much development, and the look of sickness from quality of life and social issues.

I mean is every community in the county you live in the same? Little to wide of a generalization there.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

We're going to be visiting Philly next weekend with our kids. Does anyone know how to get discounted tickets for the Franklin Institute? Our son loves Legos and we want to take him to the Lego exhibit.

Good question. The fee is a little steep considering it's over $100 for 2 adults and a child for the museum and exhibit. I think they realized a couple years ago with the Jurassic Park exhibit that having expensive exhibits people want to see is better than the cheap ones be don't want to see.

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by TempleGuy1000

Good question. The fee is a little steep considering it's over $100 for 2 adults and a child for the museum and exhibit. I think they realized a couple years ago with the Jurassic Park exhibit that having expensive exhibits people want to see is better than the cheap ones be don't want to see.

Tickets are even more than that. It is going to cost about $160 for the us and our two kids.

https://tickets.fi.edu/webstore/shop...4xNzIzMTI4Njc4

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by ColdJay64

It seems like some days are better than others too. I was in CC all day about a week ago with my fiancee... saw literally no antisocial behaviors, maybe like 2-3 unhoused people the whole time, and thinks looked awesome and how they should. I was thrilled.

Then this past Saturday we went to the Rittenhouse Farmer's Market... guy on drugs leaning outside of Lululemon, dude threatening people (including a mom and her two kids) with a broken wine glass stem at 17th and Walnut, guy walking through the Square screaming, and that usual old homeless guy harrasing outdoor diners for money at Via Locusta... all this was in a 20 minute window. 99% of the time my impression is that things are better than what people describe online, this time I left CC feeling pretty dejected.

That’s exactly my perspective as well. It’s like an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes I feel like it’s better to just look the other way otherwise it just puts me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. I believe Nutter had some pretty hardline policies toward antisocial behavior during his term but I doubt people want to go back to that these days.

I was living in the city during his administration. I think it’s difficult for people to compare now vs then, myself included, considering it was so long ago now. However, now that everything is in full swing post COVID, I think generally things are in fact worse to varying degrees in most cities I’ve been to compared to the mid 2010’s. It’s not surprising given the fentanyl crisis, exodus of office workers and perhaps a growing cultural indifference to social disorder. While development is obviously much more ubiquitous (or at least prior to the current crunch), these factors have understandably created a sense of unease for many people. However, I think Parker and Bethel do deserve some credit and I’m somewhat hopeful of their long term effectiveness. Homicides are down dramatically and I rarely see the dirt bike/ATV gangs anymore. So while there are bright spots, I’m not confident we’ll return the full urban renaissance which persisted through the 2000’s-2010’s for most cities anytime soon; perhaps this is the new normal.

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Tickets are even more than that. It is going to cost about $160 for the us and our two kids.

https://tickets.fi.edu/webstore/shop...4xNzIzMTI4Njc4

Could consider joining a DC museum then using reciprocal entry in Philly. Of course your museums are free, so not sure if that works for you.

My family of 4 joined a Portland science museum last month and that got us free admission to the Intrepid (NYC), FI and Academy of Natural Sciences in Philly. For $140 total, and now we also can go to the Portland museum. No special exhibits though.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by UrbanRevival

People too easily forget that big cities like Philly have long been the "dumping ground" for those experiencing things like homelessness, drug addiction and mental health issues, because suburban areas just don't have anywhere near the same social services infrastructure (and very often, political will) to handle such things.

It's a decades-old and completely unfair imbalance, whereby the vast affluent suburbs don't pull anywhere close to their weight in offering social services. But you'll barely hear anyone acknowledge that reality in many conversations, political debates, or media representations.

All this to say, we have to stop framing these challenges as a "big, poorly-run city" issue. It's an American issue.

It's a simple statement. I have nothing to add or subtract from it. I have a half century of experience with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and America, so I don't need a lecture.