PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[Flyers2001]

Originally Posted by summersm343

The Canal street project? I noticed people on site the other day. I don't know what is currently going on though.

There has been on going work on that building for the past 3-4 months. They have really gutted it from the looks. Most if not all of the glass is now gone. There has been a mobile crane on site for sometime.

I was just remarking to my wife how the area has changed so much in the past 10 years. I remember the clubbing days on Del Ave, now the "8th Floor" is a very nice looking condo building. Its awesome to see that area grow into what it has and is becoming, Penn Treaty park has a nice future.

[cafeguy]

Originally Posted by summersm343

The Canal street project? I noticed people on site the other day. I don't know what is currently going on though.

I see it all the time. They closed off Frankford st access by deleware ave for it... they paved what they plan to make parking lots under 95. They are currently doing all sorts of excavation and interior work. My guess is that they expect the zoning to happen, and are prepping everything right now so when they get the go ahead, they will finish faster. But they are certainly do a lot in those buildings. Also... at laurel and front... more townhomes are going up!

[cjPhilly]

Originally Posted by cafeguy

They are currently doing all sorts of excavation and interior work.

I believe a lot of the construction on/under Canal Street is related to the combined sewer overflow (CSO) and outflow reconstruction project that is also taking place on the site of the SugarHouse Casino expansion project. It's worth stopping by there to see the remains of the massive, old brick sewer tunnel that they a replacing with the more mundane (and effective) modular, concrete tunnel units.

[Aaamazarite]

Inspired by our discussion today I took a long and sweaty walk up to Sugarhouse and walked back along Front, getting as many pics as I can of construction sites. I posted them in the General Developments thread

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=6665008&postcount=1662

[bucks native]

source: Center City District, posted 22JUL.

CBD Vacancy Rate Declines
The overall vacancy rate for the Philadelphia Central Business District(CBD) declined to 11.8% in the second quarter of 2014, down from 12.7% a year ago, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Marketbeat Office Snapshot for the second quarter of 2014. Most suburban vacancy rates were much higher, with King of Prussia at 17.0% and Blue Bell/Plymouth Meeting/Fort Washington at 20.4%.

Another Tech Start-Up Opens in Center City
Think Brownstone (thinkbrownstone.com), a Conshohocken-based tech company that works with clients such as ING, Hay Group, and Comcast to improve their digital products, opened the company’s new Philadelphia office on July 10 at the Packard Grande Building, 111 South 15th Street (15th and Sansom Streets).

Think Brownstone employs 50 people, including at least 15 who will work in the Philadelphia office, with the potential to expand. Other tech companies that recently opened offices in the city to be near a tech-savvy urban workforce include Bentley Systems, Fiberlink, SevOne, and Eisner Amper.

[bucks native]

Photo by Laura Kicey

http://www.phillymag.com/property/2014/07/22/beury-building-sheriffs-sale/#gallery-1-4

The Beury Building has not yet been rescued in Divine Lorraine fashion. If you want it, the latest listings show that the foreclosed building will go up for Sheriff’s Sale on August 5.

[Baconboy007]

For those of you wondering what building this is, it's the FOREVER BONER Building further up Broad street.

[Plokoon11]

Thats an interesting roof crown.

[mPhilly]

Originally Posted by Baconboy007

For those of you wondering what building this is, it's the FOREVER BONER Building further up Broad street.

Affectionately and better known simply as the "Boner Building" by Temple Med students (so I'm told). Can't imagine major development making it this far up north broad for at least another 5 years. In time though... in time!

Aaamazarite, thanks for the Sugarhouse/Front street pics.

[josef]

I get a vague feeling of being in the Netherlands from that picture. It must be the gorgeous detail work on that building and the roofs of the homes below.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by josef

I get a vague feeling of being in the Netherlands from that picture. It must be the gorgeous detail work on that building and the roofs of the homes below.

I was thinking the same thing (and almost posted it)! Definitely the feel of a Northern European city with the details on those row houses.

[summersm343]

I would love to see North Broad Street lined with highrises/mid rises similar to the Wilshire Blvd Corridor in Los Angeles. There is definitely potential for this to happen at least from Center City to Temple as the neighborhoods surrounding Broad Street continue to improve. But all the way up to Temple hospital? I doubt it. At least not for a long long time. The only chance for the Beury Building anywhere in the near future is for Temple to do something with it

[ScreamShatter]

Originally Posted by summersm343

I would love to see North Broad Street lined with highrises/mid rises similar to the Wilshire Blvd Corridor in Los Angeles. There is definitely potential for this to happen at least from Center City to Temple as the neighborhoods surrounding Broad Street continue to improve. But all the way up to Temple hospital? I doubt it. At least not for a long long time. The only chance for the Beury Building anywhere in the near future is for Temple to do something with it

I would love to see highrises up North Broad as well. That'd be amazing.

Temple has expressed interested in adding dorm/apartment spaces near the Med School. This building could be perfect for that if they wanted to take a project like this on.

[bucks native]

http://planphilly.com/eyesonthestreet/20...or-new-kensington-on-orinoka-mills-reuse



New Kensington CDC (NKCDC) is making plans to transform the 1920s mill into Orinoka Civic House. It will have 51 one- and two-bedroom loft-like units, reserved for those earning 20%-60% of the Area Median Income. On the first floor, at the corner of Ruth and Somerset, will be an airy community space and hopefully a coffee shop. It will be glassy and inviting - two words that don’t describe anything about Orinoka Mills now.



Rendering of proposed Orinoka Civic House, courtesy NKCDC and Jibe Design

[GarCastle]

Some of you may recall me rambling on about Penn Tower coming down for a replacement hospital for HUP. It was the final phase of the original Center for Advanced Medicine but the most I've ever seen was an amorphous blob on a map.

I happened to have a meeting in the Exec offices and walked by a mock-up of what appeared to be the first wave of the new hospital. It shows Penn Tower and it's garage totally gone, the South tower up to its full height to match the Smilow tower, and the juicy part is two new towers with what is either a parking garage or a massive base with green roof between the towers. Telling by the pedestal nature of the left arm of the Perelman horseshoe and the garage/base thing in the middle of the new area, my guess would be that is for future expansion in a later wave of construction as needed.

So here are a few shots that I tried to do quickly so as to not draw too much attention from my drooling LOL. For reference, the Penn Museum is in the foreground and the new CHOP ambulatory center is in the back, HUP would be off in the bottom right of the first photo with the main CHOP campus in the upper right.

(no info near the display to indicate any projected dates and the spotlight reflections were unavoidable, so I can't officially start a new thread for it yet)

Cheers,
G.

[bucks native]

Do any of you Drexel guys know whether Drexel Medicine has development plans in its pipeline? Its hospital is Hahnemann, yes?

I read that it received more applications for its Fall class than any other US med school.....13,000.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by GarCastle

Some of you may recall me rambling on about Penn Tower coming down for a replacement hospital for HUP. It was the final phase of the original Center for Advanced Medicine but the most I've ever seen was an amorphous blob on a map.

I happened to have a meeting in the Exec offices and walked by a mock-up of what appeared to be the first wave of the new hospital. It shows Penn Tower and it's garage totally gone, the South tower up to its full height to match the Smilow tower, and the juicy part is two new towers with what is either a parking garage or a massive base with green roof between the towers. Telling by the pedestal nature of the left arm of the Perelman horseshoe and the garage/base thing in the middle of the new area, my guess would be that is for future expansion in a later wave of construction as needed.

So here are a few shots that I tried to do quickly so as to not draw too much attention from my drooling LOL. For reference, the Penn Museum is in the foreground and the new CHOP ambulatory center is in the back, HUP would be off in the bottom right of the first photo with the main CHOP campus in the upper right.

(no info near the display to indicate any projected dates and the spotlight reflections were unavoidable, so I can't officially start a new thread for it yet)

Cheers,
G.

Wow, thanks for posting those! For one thing, it's the first time I've gotten a good look at how the Smilow and new PCAM South towers relate to each other. If this is accurate (and it seems to include a lot of details indicating that it is), those two towers will NOT be connected except at their podia. And that's quite a lot of square footage they'd be adding with those new south towers (it appears to me that the central connecting structure is more clinical/research space, and NOT a parking garage). I'm wondering if this would further plans (that I think you mentioned a while ago) to ultimately remove at least some of the old HUP structures to allow for buildings related more to Penn's core academic/research functions to occupy that space.

Great undercover work, Agent GC! Now, if you can just go back in and make a few discreet inquiries to get us a bit more intelligence.

[bucks native]

SEPTA

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[Flyers2001]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Wow, thanks for posting those! For one thing, it's the first time I've gotten a good look at how the Smilow and new PCAM South towers relate to each other. If this is accurate (and it seems to include a lot of details indicating that it is), those two towers will NOT be connected except at their podia. And that's quite a lot of square footage they'd be adding with those new south towers (it appears to me that the central connecting structure is more clinical/research space, and NOT a parking garage). I'm wondering if this would further plans (that I think you mentioned a while ago) to ultimately remove at least some of the old HUP structures to allow for buildings related more to Penn's core academic/research functions to occupy that space.

Great undercover work, Agent GC! Now, if you can just go back in and make a few discreet inquiries to get us a bit more intelligence.

I had a meeting with one of the heads of Security for Penn Hospital a couple weeks ago. I can tell you that those are indeed the plans for expansion. I am not familiar enough with the area, but there is an ongoing dispute between Penn and Chop to implement those plans because he mentioned that a street would have to be changed benefitting the front entrance of the new building and making it more difficult for enterance to one of CHOP's building.

Penn Tower is still on schedule to come down in approx 10-12 months according to my source.

[Kidphilly]

Originally Posted by bucks native

Do any of you Drexel guys know whether Drexel Medicine has development plans in its pipeline? Its hospital is Hahnemann, yes?

I read that it received more applications for its Fall class than any other US med school.....13,000.

I have heard "rumors" (albeit from people in the business but nothing substanative) that they could be looking longer term to relocate the Hospital and school to the other side of the river. Will see if I can dig up anything additional but that might fit in with their longer term vision around 30th street station