PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[relnahe]

Originally Posted by McBane

The Navy Yard is growing very quickly. But how come the city's leaders don't take the NY model - i.e., favorable business taxes - and spread it throughout the city? The evidence is right there in front of them! I'm not saying to make the entire city a tax-free zone, but the cure to turnaround this city is so obvious. Someone here mentioned doing away w/ the residential tax abatement and instead creating something similar for businesses. That's a great idea.

Favorable business taxes? I live in NY state and know a number of business owners, it is not business friendly. If you're talking about Cuomo's "business zone" thing it is no different than the KOZ in PA he ripped off. Its actually caused a lot of controversy here. Just remove the BPT.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by relnahe

Favorable business taxes? I live in NY state and know a number of business owners, it is not business friendly. If you're talking about Cuomo's "business zone" thing it is no different than the KOZ in PA he ripped off. Its actually caused a lot of controversy here. Just remove the BPT.

Sorry for the confusion - I was referring to the Navy Yard (NY).

Re Venice Island, don't know much about that project, even though I live nearby. Don't hate on Manayunk. It's not all bros and hos. Plenty of them grew up, got jobs nearby, and bought homes in the neighborhood. Main St however hasn't caught up and most people I feel continue to go out downtown. Still, Manayunk/Rox is very walkable and urban; has a busy commercial strip on Ridge Ave; decent dining/drinking options on (e.g., Han, Lucky's, Brewpub) and off Main Street (Dawson St, Old Eagle, Foodery); access to the Wissahickon Park and Kelly Drive, and very convenient to CC via bus, train, bike, and car as well as job centers in the western burbs. Plus it's WAY more affordable than CC and safer than up and coming parts of Fishtown, South Philly, and West Philly. There's a lot to like about it.

[PhiLaw]

Originally Posted by relnahe

Favorable business taxes? I live in NY state and know a number of business owners, it is not business friendly. If you're talking about Cuomo's "business zone" thing it is no different than the KOZ in PA he ripped off. Its actually caused a lot of controversy here. Just remove the BPT.

NY is ranked number 2 out of 50 states for so-called "tax refugees," CA being number 1. A lot of this has to do with population size, but both NY and CA have one of the highest per capita domestic out-migrations of working class and middle/upper-middle class people.

If we got our act together, maybe we could capture a few of these people before they reach Florida and Atlanta!

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politic...igrations-driving-growth-us-cities/8873/

[Baconboy007]

Originally Posted by McBane

Sorry for the confusion - I was referring to the Navy Yard (NY).

Re Venice Island, don't know much about that project, even though I live nearby. Don't hate on Manayunk. It's not all bros and hos. Plenty of them grew up, got jobs nearby, and bought homes in the neighborhood. Main St however hasn't caught up and most people I feel continue to go out downtown. Still, Manayunk/Rox is very walkable and urban; has a busy commercial strip on Ridge Ave; decent dining/drinking options on (e.g., Han, Lucky's, Brewpub) and off Main Street (Dawson St, Old Eagle, Foodery); access to the Wissahickon Park and Kelly Drive, and very convenient to CC via bus, train, bike, and car as well as job centers in the western burbs. Plus it's WAY more affordable than CC and safer than up and coming parts of Fishtown, South Philly, and West Philly. There's a lot to like about it.

Deke's has some of the best bbq in the city and $12 all you can eat on Sunday's is steal

[shadowbat2]

Originally Posted by techchallenger

How are you gleaning the 'Stawbridges' building from what was posted about The Gallery?

The article mentions changes to the lobby of 801 Market Street to accommodate C21. 801 is the Strawbridges building. I'm guessing in PREIT's eyes it's all the same....

[bucks native]

Century 21 department store to open at former Strawbridge's

Thursday, April 24, 2014
By Kellie Patrick Gates

Attention, Philadelphia shoppers! New York City-based Century 21 department store is coming to the former Strawbridges building this fall.

Century 21, which has eight retail locations in New York and New Jersey, will take up 100,000 square feet in the building, including 60,000 square feet on the ground level and the entire second floor. The remainder of the first floor will be filled with smaller retail and restaurants, Coradino said. The space has been vacant since 2006.

http://planphilly.com/articles/2014/04/2...nt-store-to-open-at-former-strawbridge-s

[bucks native]

$60-$70 million Chestnut Street residential development set to begin

Demolition crews are weeks away from dismantling nearly an entire side of the 1100 block of Chestnut Street. All buildings will come down except for the Oppenheim building. In their place will rise a single structure that connects to and emulates the height, architecture, and other features of the Oppenheim building. In all, there will be four visible storefronts.

No walls will separate the large retail footprints being crafted from the basement through the second floors. Residential units will occupy floors three through six and will start at $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.

The Oppenheim store, a mid-1920s-era building, has towering concrete columns and ceilings 21 feet high on street level, 15 feet high on the second floor, and 14 feet in the basement.

Each new storefront will be narrow by suburban retailing standards. But the sales floors will extend hundreds of feet to Sansom Street, where there will be other entrances and streetscaping.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20...nt_set_to_begin.html#ofJzEkzdGejUE5ph.99

[shadowbat2]

^You beat me to it!

Quoted from the article:

A large chunk, however, including the six-story former Oppenheim Collins & Co. store, hit the market after a lender took possession of it. Brickstone picked up the batch, 1122 to 1128, last June.

The company then bought 1118 to 1120 in October, and sealed a deal for 1116 on Thursday, Connors said. One more deal was in the works, he said.

Each new storefront will be narrow by suburban retailing standards. But the sales floors will extend hundreds of feet to Sansom Street, where there will be other entrances and streetscaping.

I was wondering why those ratty looking buildings toward the end (east) of the block were sitting untouched. Turns out they were just bought. Also that surface lot to the rear is going too!

Rendering here:
http://www.philly.com/philly/gallery/201...o_begin.html?viewGallery=y#photoNumber=0

Nice design. Like the varied facade treatments....

[McBane]

I like this project and the varied facades (although varying heights would have been nice, too!). But I'm a bit confused on a few items.

1. The rendering shows retail on the first floor but the article says, "No walls will separate the large retail footprints being crafted from the basement through the second floors. Residential units will occupy floors three through six and will start at $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment."

So is retail going in the basement, 1, and 2? Or floors 1-3? From what I can tell in the rendering, retail is just on the first floor. Hmmmm....


2. The article suggests a supermarket may be in the works and we've heard before about a possible Trader Joes. Further, the article states, "No walls will separate the large retail footprints being crafted..." But a few paragraphs later, it says, "Each new storefront will be narrow by suburban retailing standards."

So is it one big retail space? Or several small ones? The rendering looks like many small ones, but that could just be an intentional part of the design.


3. In the rendering, which one is the building that's being restored?


4. Is there more that what's being described and included in the rendering? "Brickstone was hoping to acquire even more property, which would make it a $68.5 million project of 115 apartments and 90,000 square feet of retail, Connors said Thursday." And here, "The company then bought 1118 to 1120 in October, and sealed a deal for 1116 on Thursday, Connors said. One more deal was in the works, he said."


Thanks!

[Kidphilly]

Originally Posted by McBane

I like this project and the varied facades (although varying heights would have been nice, too!). But I'm a bit confused on a few items.

1. The rendering shows retail on the first floor but the article says, "No walls will separate the large retail footprints being crafted from the basement through the second floors. Residential units will occupy floors three through six and will start at $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment."

So is retail going in the basement, 1, and 2? Or floors 1-3? From what I can tell in the rendering, retail is just on the first floor. Hmmmm....


2. The article suggests a supermarket may be in the works and we've heard before about a possible Trader Joes. Further, the article states, "No walls will separate the large retail footprints being crafted..." But a few paragraphs later, it says, "Each new storefront will be narrow by suburban retailing standards."

So is it one big retail space? Or several small ones? The rendering looks like many small ones, but that could just be an intentional part of the design.


3. In the rendering, which one is the building that's being restored?


4. Is there more that what's being described and included in the rendering? "Brickstone was hoping to acquire even more property, which would make it a $68.5 million project of 115 apartments and 90,000 square feet of retail, Connors said Thursday." And here, "The company then bought 1118 to 1120 in October, and sealed a deal for 1116 on Thursday, Connors said. One more deal was in the works, he said."


Thanks!

This is the building being restored (right side of the images in the article)

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.950338,-...3m4!1e1!3m2!1soNseypyL4uE-Wv4zfGYFug!2e0

(I believe this was prior part of a boutique hotel proposal actually that seemed to fall through - was it Indigo or something)

Residential will start on floor 3

I believe the narrow front would be leveraged so varied size stores can be located - open floor plates allow for easier fit to sq footage needs.

Imagine retail could be on floor 1 & 2 - maybe even smaller commercial on floor 2

On the basement would imagine more storage

This block has been rumored for a TJs - guess we will see

This is also very close to the East Market development - really this area through to Market could really change dramatically soon - also the 1200 walnut thing if that ever gets done

[flyflyfly]

There are two old buildings at the corner of 12th and Chestnut. From the rendering it looks like the second one in from 12th is being restored and everything to the east of that being demolished. Is the building closest to 12th part of the development? I think I am confused.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by flyflyfly

There are two old buildings at the corner of 12th and Chestnut. From the rendering it looks like the second one in from 12th is being restored and everything to the east of that being demolished. Is the building closest to 12th part of the development? I think I am confused.

That may be the piece they're still trying to buy, since it doesn't appear to be included in the current plan. On the other hand, it could be the portion of the block to the east of this development, ending at 11th Street, that they're trying to buy and include.

[McBane]

Changing Skyline: St. Rita's stirs up conflict on a S. Phila. corner

But with the repopulation of adjacent neighborhoods like Newbold and East Passyunk, the street cries out for more density, not less. It's worth noting that the conference center site once supported a school and multiple townhouses. The parish would downgrade that to one little building and a 20-car surface parking lot.

If you open the gallery, you'll see the proposed design. Eesh! Makes Homes2Suit on 12th look like Versailles!

I really do hope they follow the same model of that church on 38th and Chestnut. Certainly, a mid-rise development could garner more money for the cash-strapped church. Right in front of a subway, too. There HAS to be something in all of the city's zoning and red tape to prevent such an atrocity.

[hammersklavier]

Note: Took this photo of the Chinatown tower site the other day:



Those are not For Sale signs, those are "Retail For Lease" signs.

Originally Posted by phaved

Does anyone have an idea when the gallery will make an announcement about the redevelopment? I'm dying to see the pics.

Well, from here:

The Gallery will be down a big tenant later this year. Coradino confirmed that Kmart, one of the larger tenants, is leaving. That space will be divided into smaller stores, he said. Coradino indicated PREIT is talking to prospective tenants, but none he was willing to reveal yet.

When asked for more detail about the mix of small and large tenants he was seeking, Corradino said rather than do a big reveal all at once, PREIT was chosing to unveil new tenants project by project. He said changes are coming to the outside of the building as well.

we know we won't be seeing the full fruits for some time yet...Certainly not as a master plan.

Also, Summersm or somebody, please please please extract the image from the PDF and post it, I can't see it at all...

[Kidphilly]

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

Note: Took this photo of the Chinatown tower site the other day:



Those are not For Sale signs, those are "Retail For Lease" signs.

Easy enough. The Inky offices are in the 3rd floor of the Strawbridge's Building (i.e. 801 Market); the announcement that they're relinquishing their dedicated entrance because a new retail tenant is going in below them implies that PREIT has, well, finally found a new anchor in the Strawbridge's building.

Couple that with the recent Century 21 announcement and you've got everything you need to know.

Can someone extract that Gallery rendering everyone's talking about? The PDF isn't cooperating with my computer.

TBH - the rendering in the CCD development report look pretty dated and more concept - didn't look like anything new or concrete IMHO

and sorry I dont know how to extract pdf images

[ILovePhilly]

Here is the Gallery Image from the Center City District Report.

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by ILovePhilly

Here is the Gallery Image from the Center City District Report.

Ok nice. An overbuild massing render, I wonder whether they'll be able to get going on that?

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Kidphilly

TBH - the rendering in the CCD development report look pretty dated and more concept - didn't look like anything new or concrete IMHO

and sorry I dont know how to extract pdf images

Definitely not dated. Looks relatively new. Could definitely just be concept renderings but they look pretty detailed. This could be what PREIT is shooting for for the end product. I would love to see this happen. I would call this a best case scenario at this point. Guess we'll see if they can get anything concrete going.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

Ok nice. An overbuild massing render, I wonder whether they'll be able to get going on that?

If they can get funding for it, I don't see why not. PREIT is a BIG TIME player. They are no small time developer. They can get things done. As long as they get financing for it, I have no doubt they can get it done.

[summersm343]

SLS International Hotel & Residences

CDR Submission
-Height has been upped to 46 floors and 590 feet
-Will be the 9th tallest in the city assuming CITC and FMC get going. This will push W Hotel back to the 10th tallest in the city.
-151 room luxury boutique SLS hotel
-126 luxury condominium units
-SLS signature restaurant and bar on the corner of Broad and Spruce
-Rooftop lounge, fitness center, 75 foot pool, 6,000 sq ft ballroom on top of podium facing the Kimmel Center

http://www.phila.gov/CityPlanning/projec...road%20and%20Spruce-CDR%20Submission.pdf