PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread II

[Arch+Eng]

New apartments coming to 11th & Berks

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Originally Posted by Arch+Eng

New apartments coming to 11th & Berks

This is part of the PHA redevelopment, right?

[3rd&Brown]

Boomers are a real hoot.

The sprawling Plaza Grande in Cherry Hill is finally complete — nearly 25 years after it was proposed

From the article:

'A walkable, amenity rich community'

For Procida, Plaza Grande is not the end of his career in the Philadelphia region. But it is the development closest to his personal sensibility.

“You couldn’t get me to live in a city in a high rise for anything,” Procida said. “I built high rises; it’s just not my thing. Here you got the best of both worlds. You’re literally under 15 minutes to Center City, but you’re in a low-rise community that’s got air and grass, and we have walking trails.”

Cherry Hill is walkable? News to me.

It's 500 feet from the Cherry Hill PATCO station and has literally no pedestrian connection. These people are mental.

[Arch+Eng]

Originally Posted by PurpleWhiteOut

This is part of the PHA redevelopment, right?

No. This is a private developer.
Jonathan Rose Companies.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

It's 500 feet from the Cherry Hill PATCO station and has literally no pedestrian connection. These people are mental.

Worse...it's the Cherry Hill NJ Transit Atlantic City Line which has terrible frequency, at least compared to PATCO.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by PHL10

Worse...it's the Cherry Hill NJ Transit Atlantic City Line which has terrible frequency, at least compared to PATCO.

In that case, I stand corrected. Either way, there should be pedestrian access to the station directly from this neighborhood.

[Phillymore]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

In that case, I stand corrected. Either way, there should be pedestrian access to the station directly from this neighborhood.

There is no (legal) way to access the station from the east side of the tracks without going down to Route 70. There really isn't much they could do without the Costco property owner giving land for a path and NJ Transit building a bridge over the tracks.

[BroadandMarket]

Originally Posted by PHL10

Worse...it's the Cherry Hill NJ Transit Atlantic City Line which has terrible frequency, at least compared to PATCO.

Yes and a development like this basically guarantees that it never has better frequency. If there was real demand NJ transit would up the frequency. They had a blank slate once the Garden State racetrack burnt down and this is what they came up with. I'm not asking for a true urban center but it's insane we couldn't at least get a KOP town center type project that HAS A TRAIN STATION RUNNING THROUGH IT. They literally put the backs of big box stores against the station.

Cherry Hill also desperately needed a true main street. Cherry Hill has nearly 80k people with not one walkable block of retail. The entire town is strip malls set back from highways. Trenton has 90k, AC has 40k haha. What a joke. Haddonfield, Merchantville, Maple Shade, Moorestown, Collingswood etc. at least have a main street.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by BroadandMarket

It's really nice. It's insane how empty that stretch of Broad is despite Graduate Hospital and Hawthorne/Bella Vista booming. I forget why Kenneth — of (— and Huff) refuses to do anything with the Broad and Christian lot next to this? I'm thinking the former Rite Aid is next for development?

It blows my mind how bleak and desperate the city must have been back then to allow all of that weird low density zoning to be built. From the Popeyes on down to the McDonalds - just brutal...

[BroadandMarket]

Originally Posted by Londonee

It blows my mind how bleak and desperate the city must have been back then to allow all of that weird low density zoning to be built. From the Popeyes on down to the McDonalds - just brutal...

The city government couldn't really control it though. I assume since it was on Broad, it was zoned commercial and scumbag owners demolished beautiful buildings for strip malls because it was cheaper than rehabbing them. I assume historical protections didn't even exist yet?

Broad and Catharine, east


Broad and Catharine, west


Broad and Carp, north

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by BroadandMarket

The city government couldn't really control it though. I assume since it was on Broad, it was zoned commercial and scumbag owners demolished beautiful buildings for strip malls because it was cheaper than rehabbing them. I assume historical protections didn't even exist yet?

Broad and Catharine, east


Broad and Catharine, west


Broad and Carp, north

What a horrifying thing. Can you imagine demolishing these buildings to put up a mcdonalds? unforgivable.

[BroadandMarket]

As we know the Chinatown stitch is dead for now but at least Vine street will see some improvements. Does anyone know why the bike lane isn't against the curb? It seems counterintuitive to have cars speeding by bikes when parallel parked cars could protect riders?

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelph...owRecommendationsO4T13TH1VN1Q11#cxrecs_s

https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-p...20improvements%20concept%20plan%20v2.pdf

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Originally Posted by BroadandMarket

As we know the Chinatown stitch is dead for now but at least Vine street will see some improvements. Does anyone know why the bike lane isn't against the curb? It seems counterintuitive to have cars speeding by bikes when parallel parked cars could protect riders?

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelph...owRecommendationsO4T13TH1VN1Q11#cxrecs_s

https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-p...20improvements%20concept%20plan%20v2.pdf

Is it because it's a state route? I remember there was some issue with state law and parking protected bike lanes.

I'm very happy to see this moving forward regardless. I would have gone further down to 1 lane and expanded the sidewalks. It's already redundant with the expressway.

Regarding the Stitch, they're also using the funds they have to continue designing and feedback til they run out, hoping they can keep working while waiting for a regime change for funding or looking for other sources which is a great idea. It'd be best to get it as shovel ready as possible

[Radio5]

Originally Posted by BroadandMarket

As we know the Chinatown stitch is dead for now but at least Vine street will see some improvements. Does anyone know why the bike lane isn't against the curb? It seems counterintuitive to have cars speeding by bikes when parallel parked cars could protect riders?

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelph...owRecommendationsO4T13TH1VN1Q11#cxrecs_s

https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-p...20improvements%20concept%20plan%20v2.pdf

The only good I see from the delay is that hopefully when we revisit it, we can do the full scope plan and fully cap it.

[PHLtoNYC]

O Philly...

Judge orders Philly to stop taking parking spaces on Pine and Spruce Streets for bike-friendly loading zones
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/pine-spruce-bike-lane-lawsuit-20250814.html

A judge has preliminarily ordered Philadelphia to stop taking parking spaces to create bike-friendly loading zones along Pine and Spruce Streets in Center City, siding with residents who filed a lawsuit to reclaim access to the parking spaces.

Common Pleas Court Judge Sierra Thomas-Street on Wednesday ordered the city to “immediately cease and desist all ongoing construction, signage installation, enforcement efforts, or public works associated with the proposed ‘neighborhood loading zones,’ or related restrictions on Pine and Spruce Streets, pending further order of court.”

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Common Pleas Court Judge Sierra Thomas-Street on Wednesday ordered the city to “immediately cease and desist all ongoing construction, signage installation, enforcement efforts, or public works associated with the proposed ‘neighborhood loading zones,’ or related restrictions on Pine and Spruce Streets, pending further order of court.”[/I]

Is this judge related to John and Shariff Street?

[nemesisinphilly]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Is this judge related to John and Shariff Street?

She is Sharif's ex-wife.

[PHLtoNYC]

More details, notably, construction starting in mid-2026.

Carl Dranoff plots next steps for $45M development at former McDonald's site
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...carpenter-new-development-mixed-use.html

Construction is expected to begin in mid-2026 on the new apartment building, a joint venture between Dranoff Properties and Cherry Hill-based Kingsway Realty Co. Kingsway Realty owns the land and brought on Dranoff as a partner after the McDonald’s lease was not renewed in 2021.

“This building will have personality,” he said. “It will stand out. The buildings around it are different colors and different materials. This will have a Philadelphia personality based on its red brick. That’s what will make it special.”

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

More details, notably, construction starting in mid-2026.

Carl Dranoff plots next steps for $45M development at former McDonald's site
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...carpenter-new-development-mixed-use.html

Construction is expected to begin in mid-2026 on the new apartment building, a joint venture between Dranoff Properties and Cherry Hill-based Kingsway Realty Co. Kingsway Realty owns the land and brought on Dranoff as a partner after the McDonald’s lease was not renewed in 2021.

“This building will have personality,” he said. “It will stand out. The buildings around it are different colors and different materials. This will have a Philadelphia personality based on its red brick. That’s what will make it special.”

[jaysb]

Small Old(ish) Man Gripe:

I think PHS does a fantastic job landscaping around town. But the shrubbery planted around the Swan Fountain this year is too tall. You can only really see the fountain through the walkways. It's quite a majestic piece, I'd like to see it featured more prominently. (apologies if it wasn't PHS, I just assumed)

The Calder Museum is looking like it's nearly done; fantastic addition. I saw a clip of former NBA star Yao Ming being asked about his fav US city, he said Philly for the cheesesteaks, but also the museums as he's a big museum guy.