PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[josef]

Originally Posted by summersm343

This is just another perfect example of how terribly unfriendly Philadelphia is towards business.

The fact that a council member can put a stop to such a big transaction is a joke. Council members have ENTIRELY too much power, and honestly City Council should be disbanded, or their power should be significantly stripped.

Yep. A few people with some ego problems can destroy the economic prospects of an entire city. I wonder if you can calculate the total cost of Clarke's psychological problems. Not only in terms of lost investment from UIL, but for how much they city's going to have to spend when its ancient gas pipes break and have to be replaced, etc.

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Leave some cheer on Darrell Clarke's facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/CouncilmanDarrellLClarke

By cheer, I mean tell him what a scumbag he is. Here's a comment I wrote in response to a post about 'recommendations' City Council allegedly issues on PGW.

"You did not issue recommendations. You failed our city by inaction and failing to even allow the proposal to be fairly presented."

Not deleted yet.

You can also contact him directly via his council page http://phlcouncil.com/council-members/co...t/councilman-president-l-clarke-contact/

[summersm343]

^^

This is the message I just sent to Darrell "the dumbass" Clarke:

Putting a halt to the PGW sale is probably the biggest mistake you've ever made. You may have single-handedly cost the city millions of dollars. Are you that incompetent, or are you just willing to do anything if someone pays you for it?

Why not do something productive for this city for once with your egomaniacal councilmanic powers and put a bill through City Council that will overhaul the city's business tax structure so we can attract companies and good paying jobs to the city?

You pledge to support the working class yet you do nothing to attract jobs to the city for them, and if anything, you continue to send a message about just how unfriendly of a city Philadelphia is towards business.

If you care at all about this city, do not run for mayor. Philadelphia is finally on an upward trajectory and you would do us ALL a disservice.

[summersm343]

Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia at Market East

Looks like the Gallery will be renamed.

It appears the partnership that is redeveloping the Gallery in Center City plans to recreate the space as the "Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia at Market East."

At least that was the buzz at the International Council of Shopping Centers conference held last week in New York.

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and its development partner, Macerich, are at the beginning stages of preparing the Gallery for a massive overhaul. Macerich operates properties under the "Fashion Outlets" moniker in Chicago and Niagara Falls, N.Y. Outlet stores from high-end retailers including Bloomingdales, Barney's, Banana Republic, Guess, J. Crew and others have stores in those centers.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/real-estate/2014/12/fashion-outlets-to-thegallery.html

[br323206]

Originally Posted by PhiLaw

With all due respect, you are absolutely incorrect. The millennial generation is the largest generation we've ever had in American history. Retired baby boomers accounts for about a quarter of the decrease in the WPR - the bulk of it is people dropping out of the workforce because (a) they cannot find a job, so they are either staying in school or on the couch, or (b) disincentives in labor and health policies. Also note the exponential rise in workers on disability, which parallels the declining WPR. Even the Administration acknowledges the WPR is an issue.

If you look at the numbers (and I can get you sources), the WPR is lower in all age cohorts - teens, millennial, Gen-Xers and beyond. In fact, the teen WPR is lower than its ever been in American History. Older workers are now competing with them for jobs. This is precisely the reason why the Fed remains leery of reversing the QE's too quickly.

Your view of this is very skewed. First of all, by your own admission a quarter of the decrease is attributed to retiring baby boomers. That's a huge proportion to attribute to that one factor, and many other estimates say that it could be a much larger percentage. So your assertion there does not prove me wrong. Furthermore, a huge percentage of the decrease is because young people are pursuing higher education at a higher rate than ever before. We can debate whether they are doing that because they are ambitious or because they can't find jobs otherwise, but overall that is a GOOD thing for our economy in the long run. Also, the WPR is not lower in all age cohorts. It has dropped dramatically among teenagers and significantly among those in their early 20s (again, more education), but it has only dropped slightly among those ages 25 to 54 and has risen dramatically among those in the 55 to 64 cohort.

But your most glaringly incorrect statement is that WPR is at an all-time low. That is just silly. It's at 63%, down from a peak of 67%--so even when we're talking about these declines we're talking about a few percentage points difference). In 1970 the WPR was 60% and in 1950 it was about 59%. So no we're not at an all-time low.

The WPR has changed because of changing demographics and demographers have been predicting it for a long time. The recession has sped up that change, but the situation is far from dire--and more importantly it is largely a result of long-term changes in society, not specifically the current economic moment.

[VikingDutchman]

It appears the partnership that is redeveloping the Gallery in Center City plans to recreate the space as the "Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia at Market East."

Brief, catchy, to the point.

Of course, everyone will keep calling it the Gallery no matter what they do.

[philly13]

Originally Posted by VikingDutchman

Brief, catchy, to the point.

Of course, everyone will keep calling it the Gallery no matter what they do.

I'm not a fan of the fashion outlet name

[Cro Burnham]

Our City Council is gross because as essentially only superficially educated people, most have - at best - disregard - but more typically - outright resentment and contempt for skilled professionals, people with education, and self-supporting people. They view such people exclusively as bank accounts morally obligated to fund their constituents with welfare, patronage, and/or union compensation. Totally digusting.

The only positive thing about them is their deep visceral - and accurate - fear (that their braindead constituents amazingly lack) that if they get too greedy, the well of wealth will run dry and disappear.

[VikingDutchman]

Originally Posted by philly13

They should call it "Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia at Market East Where People Can Go to Shop in South Eastern Pennsylvania"

It has a certain ring to it.

FOPMEWPCGSSEP for short!

Example sentence:

"Sorry buddy, I need to head over to fopmewpecgissep for some new shoes that morning"

[PhiLaw]

Originally Posted by br323206

Your view of this is very skewed. First of all, by your own admission a quarter of the decrease is attributed to retiring baby boomers. That's a huge proportion to attribute to that one factor, and many other estimates say that it could be a much larger percentage. So your assertion there does not prove me wrong. Furthermore, a huge percentage of the decrease is because young people are pursuing higher education at a higher rate than ever before. We can debate whether they are doing that because they are ambitious or because they can't find jobs otherwise, but overall that is a GOOD thing for our economy in the long run. Also, the WPR is not lower in all age cohorts. It has dropped dramatically among teenagers and significantly among those in their early 20s (again, more education), but it has only dropped slightly among those ages 25 to 54 and has risen dramatically among those in the 55 to 64 cohort.

But your most glaringly incorrect statement is that WPR is at an all-time low. That is just silly. It's at 63%, down from a peak of 67%--so even when we're talking about these declines we're talking about a few percentage points difference). In 1970 the WPR was 60% and in 1950 it was about 59%. So no we're not at an all-time low.

The WPR has changed because of changing demographics and demographers have been predicting it for a long time. The recession has sped up that change, but the situation is far from dire--and more importantly it is largely a result of long-term changes in society, not specifically the current economic moment.

Your response is appreciated but don't misquote me. Nowhere did I say the WPR was at an all-time low. That would be absurd, since women did not fully participate in the workforce until a few decades ago. I said the teen WPR was at an all-time low (I am excluding extraneous factors, like Slavery, labor rules, etc.)

And your statement that kids staying in school longer is good in the long-run is incorrect. What good can come when a lower percentage of the population is producing goods and services for the entire populations?

Fact is, we're slowly exiting the economic malaise that has blighted us for around 7 years, but slowly is the operative word.

[josef]

The word "outlet" makes me think of a fake beige plaza in the middle of nowhere off the turnpike. Hopefully the architectural changes are greater than the linguistic ones.

[McBane]

Whether you think selling PGW is a good idea or not, the fact that the proposed deal wasn't even discussed at a hearing is bad governance. And while UIL's CEO was diplomatic, his message is quite clear: Philadelphia is a bad place to do business.
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/ho...f__disappointed__in_failed_PGW_deal.html

Even if Council was pre-disposed to say no, at least put on an act to make it seem like the city is doing its due diligence and is pro-business. By not scheduling a hearing, it just reiterates old perceptions of the city's business and political culture.

The city, and Mayor Nutter, in particular, have tried very hard to change this perception but it appears that nothing has changed. Worse still, what does it say when Clarke, the guy most responsible for killing the deal, would be the frontrunner to become the next mayor, should he decide to run?* It doesn't appear one bit that his action has taken any sort of political hit. Nobody cares.

*Many articles point to people hesitating to donate money or make endorsements until they know Clarke's intentions.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by summersm343

^^

This is the message I just sent to Darrell "the dumbass" Clarke:

Great. Keep it up, team! I will escalate my anti-Clarke campaign as elections roll around.

[McBane]

New hotel for Four Seasons space: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/ho...ns_to_close_for_renovations_in_June.html

I remember reading some TripAdvisor reviews on the FS and the theme of many reviewers was that it was a nice hotel but not up to FS standards and in need of a renovation. So it's good that the new owners will improve what already is a 4-star hotel.

[br323206]

Originally Posted by PhiLaw

Your response is appreciated but don't misquote me. Nowhere did I say the WPR was at an all-time low. That would be absurd, since women did not fully participate in the workforce until a few decades ago. I said the teen WPR was at an all-time low (I am excluding extraneous factors, like Slavery, labor rules, etc.)

And your statement that kids staying in school longer is good in the long-run is incorrect. What good can come when a lower percentage of the population is producing goods and services for the entire populations?

Fact is, we're slowly exiting the economic malaise that has blighted us for around 7 years, but slowly is the operative word.

I apologize, I misread your sentence about the teen WPR. I didn't see the word teen, that's my fault. But my critique of that statement is that the teen WPR isn't really as important as the WPR among those in their prime working years.

And the reason that kids staying in school longer is good in the long-run is that we live in a global economy now. Globalization has driven unskilled wages down, while also placing downward pressure on the prices of those goods and services. If we want to remain the superpower that we are, we need a highly skilled workforce. My parents both have high school educations and I have a graduate degree. I'm better off than they are because of it and the overall economy is better off because of it too. The demand for skilled labor is there and we need to work to fill that demand by producing an educated populace.

As for your last statement about slowly exiting the economic malaise we've suffered from recently? I agree. What I'm not really understanding is why we're arguing in the first place? I agreed with a statement that the decrease in workforce participation rate can be explained, in large part, by retiring baby boomers. You called me out as incorrect and then stated that a large factor was.... retiring baby boomers. So what's the issue? Seems like we're picking nits here.

[Jawnadelphia]

Rendering of what is to come at 2400 Market St (as I mentioned on the general dev board - PMC stated today that the whale mural will be no more,

...thanks to Plan Philly ... very kind to share with me this computer model..., a report will be following shortly from Plan Philly - w/ alot more details I'm sure.


[IMG]http://[url=https://flic.kr/p/pu9xYA][/url]Untitled by TallCoolOne2014, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Jawnadelphia]

^^ Wait doesn't that look just like their 2040 Market St. re-development? A little taller though.

[Baconboy007]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

^^ Wait doesn't that look just like their 2040 Market St. re-development? A little taller though.

Makes me think of the Brandywine Trust logo.

[Larry King]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

^^ Wait doesn't that look just like their 2040 Market St. re-development? A little taller though.

It's pmc, bottom line over trophy buildings

[Cro Burnham]

I imagine they will use the same strategy as in the past: inexpensive, bland, but generally inoffensive design, and moderate height and fat width dimensions so as to be able to use as light, cheap, nd modular a structural system as possible.
They did that at 1900 Arch and at 2030 Market. Looks like the intention on Columbus Blvd, too..

In addition, like at 2030, they already have a sturdy building base in place (i.e., no foundation work, no major demo required) so construction and entry into the market will proceed very quickly.

It's low risk. It's the way to go if you don't have an "edifice complex" ego about development (eg, Dranoff, Scanapecio, Lenfest, Comcast) and just want to make money fast with the least risk. Very clinical and objective. Not appealing to skyscraper/architecture buffs, but admirable in its way.

I would bet PMC's projects perform better financially than most of the competition.

To their credit, I will say they seem to have learned the lessons of the mistakes of the 70s and 80s: cheap does not have to be hideous. It is quite possible for it to be done merely plain. And a plain building usually retains value better than an ugly one. I'm OK with this, as long as the building can fade inoffensively into the background.

Most vernacular architecture (eg, philly rowhouses) is conceived in this manner, and it's OK so long as the building supports street life and, amongst the unremarkable stuff, here and there there is remarkable jewel of a building to relieve the monotony of the vernacular.

[New2Fishtown]

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...-was-proposed-sold.html?ana=twt&page=all