PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[BroadandMarket]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Sorta OT, but I like Sienna Place (I'm sure I will get grief from some for liking it).

I had my first Drexel co-op with PHA at their office on Packer Terrace just north of Sienna Place. At that time (15 years ago), Phase 1 was underway, only ~2 dozen houses up, and most of the site was vacant with tires/trash.

I was in the area last November, and out of curiosity I drove through Sienna Place. It's mostly done, and it looked fantastic. Huge community with stately townhomes, sidewalks, trees, etc. Complete transformation of barren land.

The demand for Northbank is definitely much stronger though. Perhaps Sienna Place was ahead of its time when it started, or a less desirable location.

Yeah secure parking is an unfortunate necessity for a lot of Philadelphians because Septa is so inadequate in terms of coverage and quality of life. I totally get them existing, it's the price of Northbank that is the surprising part. Sienna Place is not really that different than a a lot of the Northeast or Packer Park rowhomes that have a spot for a car in the front yard or backyard. I'm totally fine with these developments that keep taxpayers in Philly who would have probably moved to Delco or South Jersey otherwise. It seems as though Columbus Ave will never develop south of South so I'd definitely welcome a few of these even though we'd all prefer a tower with retail.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Sorta OT, but I like Sienna Place (I'm sure I will get grief from some for liking it).

I had my first Drexel co-op with PHA at their office on Packer Terrace just north of Sienna Place. At that time (15 years ago), Phase 1 was underway, only ~2 dozen houses up, and most of the site was vacant with tires/trash.

I was in the area last November, and out of curiosity I drove through Sienna Place. It's mostly done, and it looked fantastic. Huge community with stately townhomes, sidewalks, trees, etc. Complete transformation of barren land.

The demand for Northbank is definitely much stronger though. Perhaps Sienna Place was ahead of its time when it started, or a less desirable location.

LOL. Siena Place serves a purpose and obviously, I'm not one to criticize. But I definitely had it in mind when I made my statement about there being a market for net new new construction neighborhoods. It sold at a much slower pace than Northbank is selling but nonetheless it sold, and over time, it will become a more established and desireable neighborhood, if not for nothing, because of the size and scale of the homes.

At the least, it's a vast improvement over what was there, which was a weird post-industrial hellscape and it's certainly appropriate for Packer Park, which is a neighborhood that I would never live in but it's super well kept and tight knit. Obviously the people who live in Packer Park love it and I love for Philadelphia that they love it.

[mcgrath618]

Northbank is superior urbanism.
Siena is superior aesthetics.

[Skintreesnail]

It's not my thing, but these developments serve their purpose. I'm glad they draw people into the city that may not have otherwise moved here. Naval square i have mixed feelings on since they are so literally walled off from the community and have a large green space I'm very jealous of. It had been blighted though and it is well taken care of now. It just would have been a nice community asset.

[PHL10]

[TK2001]

The Mann Center. MAN, I still haven't seen that view for myself

[TK2001]

Philadelphia skyline 1988 by Philly SkyGuy, on Flickr

Found this postcard, couldn't find it ANYWHERE else and there was only one left. I had to get it

[Marcos]

Originally Posted by TK2001

Philadelphia skyline 1988 by Philly SkyGuy, on Flickr

Found this postcard, couldn't find it ANYWHERE else and there was only one left. I had to get it

really cool old picture, what is that building going up to the left of One Liberty?

[TK2001]

It's the Independence Blue Cross Tower. It was the first skyscraper in Philadelphia to use slip form construction, what you see is the concrete core rising. You can see the cranes building the steel structure peeking just above the buildings in the foreground.

Independence Blue Cross Tower under construction by Philly SkyGuy, on Flickr

This shot was taken a month or two before the South Street Bridge photo

[202_Cyclist]

We were in Philly this past weekend. It was our first time in Philly since 2021. When we there in 2021, the city was still dealing with the issues with the COVID pandemic. Now, however, it seems like the city is booming. City Center and South Street were full of tourists, including a lot of international tourists.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by TK2001

The Mann Center. MAN, I still haven't seen that view for myself

You need to! And my iphone pic doesn't remotely do it justice - the skyline just looks huge.

[Raja]

Walked from HUP back into Center City on Walnut this morning, and the Standard, Sparks building, 32nd & Market, and JFK towers have collectively (and dramatically) altered the feel on Upper Walnut from 33rd to 30th. Penn Park and Schuylkill River Park feel more and more like they should be one connected central park. I wonder if, someday, we'll see the pedestrian bridge over the train tracks by the Schuylkill River Park dog park extended to connect directly to Penn Park.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by Raja

Walked from HUP back into Center City on Walnut this morning, and the Standard, Sparks building, 32nd & Market, and JFK towers have collectively (and dramatically) altered the feel on Upper Walnut from 33rd to 30th. Penn Park and Schuylkill River Park feel more and more like they should be one connected central park. I wonder if, someday, we'll see the pedestrian bridge over the train tracks by the Schuylkill River Park dog park extended to connect directly to Penn Park.

I wonder if/when Urban Space is still opening in the Bulletin Building (30th & Market)? That would help fill the food void in the immediate area.

That entire stretch is completely different from my days at Drexel (which weren't all that long ago).

[Raja]

Also, allow me to go full booster mode for a minute. I walked Chestnut from 30th to 3rd, and I have never seen Philadelphia look so healthy. Never. Not a single stretch of sidewalk was anything less than spotless. Not a single block was anything less than lively. Not a single bus was anything less than crowded. Retail, restaurants, office buildings all busy. Tons of traffic but no dirt bikes, no real aggression to speak of at all. Maybe it's just the gorgeous weather, but wow. And it's still August!

[BroadandMarket]

Originally Posted by Raja

Walked from HUP back into Center City on Walnut this morning, and the Standard, Sparks building, 32nd & Market, and JFK towers have collectively (and dramatically) altered the feel on Upper Walnut from 33rd to 30th. Penn Park and Schuylkill River Park feel more and more like they should be one connected central park. I wonder if, someday, we'll see the pedestrian bridge over the train tracks by the Schuylkill River Park dog park extended to connect directly to Penn Park.

I wish the city had the money to make Penn Park a city park instead of Penn making it sports fields but Penn has money to spend and city does not.

[Arch+Eng]

Am I the only one that wants to see Penn Park Demolished and filled with scrapers?
Schuylkill Yards South!!

I would really love a building at that parking lot south of FMC (Lower Walnut). And even want the rail yard in front of FMC capped. I even want retail on lower walnut.

[Dan1]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

I wonder if/when Urban Space is still opening in the Bulletin Building (30th & Market)? That would help fill the food void in the immediate area.

That entire stretch is completely different from my days at Drexel (which weren't all that long ago).

I've been trying to follow that food hall construction, but unfortunately don't have too much of an update.

In the last couple of weeks, an application for a liquor license was filed for 3025 Food Hall LLC. Additionally, they recently installed a brand new front entrance for the space. Urbanspace sold all their food halls a year or two ago, with the NYC locations all going to the same new owner. I'm not sure if the operator of the Schuylkill Yards food hall is the NYC food hall operator or someone else. Unfortunately, you can clearly see inside the space, and despite being under construction for a few years now they still have a long way to go before they open. The signage on the outside was changed from "Fall 2023" to "2024" so hopefully it will open before the end of the year.

It seems Brandywine has been doing a very poor job leasing retail lately. I understand retail has been a challenge everywhere since the pandemic, but I would think the empty spaces they have directly outside the train station would remain quite lucrative. 3000 Market St seems to have been abandoned for the last couple of years and no retail has opened in the West Tower on JFK yet.

[William Van Alen]

Originally Posted by TK2001

Philadelphia skyline 1988 by Philly SkyGuy, on Flickr

Found this postcard, couldn't find it ANYWHERE else and there was only one left. I had to get it

I know it's an unpopular opinion on this forum, but I liked the skyline better before every building adopted colored LEDs. Classic incandescent white was just better IMO. Gave things a more classic Art Deco era New York vibe.

I hope the CITC never lights the mast with colored LEDs

[TK2001]

Oh yea, the original neon lighting was powerful. I'm sure One Liberty used to look like a zig-zag beacon from many perspectives in New Jersey. And I hate to break it to you...but word has gone around recently about the CTC spine and lantern switching to color lighting.

Also y'all are making me jealous with this construction talk...I haven't been to the city since June!

[bdurk]

Comcast is currently looking into replacing the lights on the spire so uh, hate to be the bearer of bad news but we will probably see a rainbow CITC in a few years