PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[Jes44]

Penn New Living Space Across from Penn Law?

I know that they are building a brand new living space that will be shared between professors and students across the Law School. Does someone have a camera of daily construction or even start a new thread for this project? The construction was already to have started?

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Jes44

Penn New Living Space Across from Penn Law?

I know that they are building a brand new living space that will be shared between professors and students across the Law School. Does someone have a camera of daily construction or even start a new thread for this project? The construction was already to have started?

The building will only be 7 floors in height. That doesn't warrant a new thread which requires the building to be at least 12 floors. I believe foundation work is still being done but hopefully I'll head over to University City soon for updates.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by Jes44

Penn New Living Space Across from Penn Law?

I know that they are building a brand new living space that will be shared between professors and students across the Law School. Does someone have a camera of daily construction or even start a new thread for this project? The construction was already to have started?

Originally Posted by summersm343

The building will only be 7 floors in height. That doesn't warrant a new thread which requires the building to be at least 12 floors. I believe foundation work is still being done but hopefully I'll head over to University City soon for updates.

In the interim, here are some details about it, including several renderings under the "Images" tab (click on the thumbnails):

http://www.pennconnects.upenn.edu/find_a...on_a_to_f/new_college_house_overview.php

[christof]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Penn South Bank

Companies that will anchor the development:



More info here:
http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/news/penn-...and-research-park-south-bank-master-plan

Guess Penn wanted to steal some thunder from Drexel.
In reality, this plan has been talked about in the past a lot at Penn. Not sure why the presser went out today.

[christof]

Originally Posted by summersm343

The building will only be 7 floors in height. That doesn't warrant a new thread which requires the building to be at least 12 floors. I believe foundation work is still being done but hopefully I'll head over to University City soon for updates.

Walked by the site today, they are still digging and driving in pillars.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by christof

Guess Penn wanted to steal some thunder from Drexel.
In reality, this plan has been talked about in the past a lot at Penn. Not sure why the presser went out today.

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Today and tomorrow are the annual winter meetings of Penn's Board of Trustees and its committees. I assume that this is related to the presentation of the specific plans to--and/or the approval of them by--the trustees during those meetings. There are certainly more details here than we've seen before.

Looks like my assumption was correct:

The committee also discussed the South Bank Master Plan for the Pennovation Center. Development principles will focus on entrepreneurship, creation and innovation and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships.

As part of the developing the design for the center, there will be a particular effort to connect the Center to Penn, the Schuylkill River and the city of Philadelphia in general. “This is a place where we can do lots of things at a lower cost than we can do it on our main campus,” Gutmann said.

http://www.thedp.com/article/2014/02/trustee-winter-meeting

[PhiLaw]

Well this makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (save for the Addison St. claim, which is ridiculous):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/28/philadelphia-underrated-city_n_4826930.html

[chris08876]

UPenn Plans Massive 'Pennovation Center' on the Schuylkill

Yesterday, UPenn revealed its master plan for a new "Pennovation Center"on the university's new South Bank campus, a parcel of 23 acres along the Schuylkill River which used to be the site of a Dupont factory.
The "Pennovation Center" will be a business incubator, with some lab space. Penn's president, Amy Gutman said that the South Bank campus

"will provide cutting-edge facilities and professional services for Penn's community of innovators, researchers, students and entrepreneurs, in order to accelerate the formation of new, University-based business ventures. It puts Penn at the forefront of new business development in the region and creates the potential for transformational change along the banks of the river just south of our campus"

The master plan for the 23 acre parcel fits nicely with Penn's overall campus development strategy, Penn Connects 2.0, which aims to add more buildingsto the university while expanding open campus space at the same time.

=====================
http://philly.curbed.com/archives/2014/0...pennovation-center-on-the-schuylkill.php

[bucks native]

Originally Posted by chris08876

UPenn Plans Massive 'Pennovation Center' on the Schuylkill





=====================
http://philly.curbed.com/archives/2014/0...pennovation-center-on-the-schuylkill.php

I don't get it. Is this site in addition to the CHOP site?
It builds off the work of Penn's four-year-old UPstart program, which helps faculty and students create businesses, and gives those businesses a physical place to call home. At least one UPstart business is located in the Pennovation Center already: Novapeutics, a diabetes treatment company.

[sayitaintso]

Sheds some light on what's going on here behind the scenes:

http://www.globest.com/news/12_805/phila...adelphia-A-Story-About-Growth-343272.htm

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by bucks native

I don't get it. Is this site in addition to the CHOP site?

Yes, completely different site. The CHOP site is further up the river, right across from the current CHOP/Penn Medicine location.

[EastSideHBG]

Changing Skyline: The gaping hole at Family Court

The sadly bland new building still lacks the quality art that could redeem it. Why?

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/home/201403...at_Family_Court.html#6hozBPyCfj1PI7TQ.99

[McBane]

A sculpture or whatever isn't going to redeem the bland as hell Family Court building.

And serious question (not rhetorical!) - how is Penn's Innovation Center different than the Science Center? I thought Penn helps fund the Science Center (along with Drexel and maybe USP and others?). Science Center has been on a tear lately but is it getting to capacity? Is it losing focus (attempts to make it more of a 24/7 neighborhood)? Does the Sci Center's location make startup costs too expensive? I'm very curious.

[Jelly Roll]

Originally Posted by McBane

A sculpture or whatever isn't going to redeem the bland as hell Family Court building.

And serious question (not rhetorical!) - how is Penn's Innovation Center different than the Science Center? I thought Penn helps fund the Science Center (along with Drexel and maybe USP and others?). Science Center has been on a tear lately but is it getting to capacity? Is it losing focus (attempts to make it more of a 24/7 neighborhood)? Does the Sci Center's location make startup costs too expensive? I'm very curious.

From what I have read I believe they have warehouse and flex space in addition to office space. As far as start-up costs I do not think university city is that expensive compared to other health science startup markets. Office space in other markets is just as expensive. There is a lot of venture capital in the UC area that was not there 5 years ago.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by Jelly Roll

From what I have read I believe they have warehouse and flex space in addition to office space. As far as start-up costs I do not think university city is that expensive compared to other health science startup markets. Office space in other markets is just as expensive. There is a lot of venture capital in the UC area that was not there 5 years ago.

Thanks but just to clarify, when I said "expensive", I was comparing the Univ City core/Market St (Sci Center) to an underutilized industrialized area (Penn Innovation).

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by McBane

And serious question (not rhetorical!) - how is Penn's Innovation Center different than the Science Center? I thought Penn helps fund the Science Center (along with Drexel and maybe USP and others?). Science Center has been on a tear lately but is it getting to capacity? Is it losing focus (attempts to make it more of a 24/7 neighborhood)? Does the Sci Center's location make startup costs too expensive? I'm very curious.

This should help to explain the difference in focus (emphasis added by me):

Penn's South Bank anticipates aligning University-related research functions with private commercial enterprises seeking to operate in close proximity to the University and its neighboring institutions. The low density of this site is well suited to emerging research and tech-transfer development opportunities that may be physically impractical to construct in the core areas of University City, but would benefit from close proximity to University initiatives and for-profit companies.

Penn's success in fostering the growth of new companies through technology licensing and through partnerships with Penn and neighboring institutions will benefit from this fertile environment for entrepreneurial growth. Penn's South Bank will allow development that is complementary to the University City Science Center and yet differ in its focus on light industrial, flex-use, and buildings scaled to fit the need for practical commercialization and business opportunities in the region.

See more here:

http://www.pennconnects.upenn.edu/find_a_project/planned/planned_s_to_z/south_bank_overview.php

[Jelly Roll]

Philly market ready for its star turn, say RealShare panelists

Philadelphia’s status as the bargain basement of large East Coast real estate markets will prove to be its ace in the hole in the near term. That was the general sentiment expressed by a panel of real estate industry leaders who spoke at the 2014 RealShare Philadelphia conference on Feb. 27 at the Union League on the Avenue of the Arts.

“There is a wall of capital coming at us. There’s a lot of money looking to get in here,” said Arthur P. Pasquarella, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Equus Capital Partners, Ltd.

From http://blog.philadelphiarealestate.com/philly-market-ready-star-turn-say-realshare-panelists/

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

This should help to explain the difference in focus (emphasis added by me):


See more here:

http://www.pennconnects.upenn.edu/find_a_project/planned/planned_s_to_z/south_bank_overview.php

Perhaps this will signal the start of more investment on the part of Penn on the right side of the river? Which would be excellent, and important, if this venture is to be successful.

This is not a very nice location. If you are a start up looking to locate either near MIT or Penn, and you are selecting either Cambridge or Grays Ferry...and on your tour of your potential campus you see that literally across the street looks like this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.939929,-...3m4!1e1!3m2!1smRe_oWzn4Qj68UvWTuMBoA!2e0

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.93985,-7...3m4!1e1!3m2!1suFA3Qzl-L74uLtU8V47JDA!2e0

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.939677,-...3m4!1e1!3m2!1s6I5yePSgUEItRduXqKFMAA!2e0

It's not like it's the hood, or it's dangerous--it's just a post-industrial waste-land with zero walk-ability and zero charm. Great news though, that this space will get an influx of investment and more great news for my neighborhood (Gho)--which borders it.

[Parkway]

In the long sad history of stupid articles about gentrification this one might take the cake, apparently it's a "human rights violation".
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140303_North_Philadelphia_meeting_addresses_gentrification.html

[jn00]

Has anyone been past 15th & Walnut lately? Are the buildings down? 2021 Chestnut is almost completley gone.

Any word on construction timeline for the new W Hotel or 1919 Market? Those seem to be the next two potential projects to break ground, although have been oddly quiet - FMC and Comcast are not supposed to happen until summer.