PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[ImaTeleUSomthing]

Originally Posted by skyscraper

This being the DNC, there will be the inevitable news features on urban blight, with backdrops of collapsing row houses with drug dealers in them, prostitution, gang violence, etc. The usual stuff.

Unless L and I kick off a campaign to level all abandoned row homes within the vicinity, these properties will unfortunately remain visible.

All that we can do is clean up around them. Maybe a campaign to promote the city's comeback, is in order.? Like 'Phila Pride Week' or something, about a week prior to the DNC.

It's all about making an impression, and we need to set a good example. If Philadelphia gets a chance to shake the lingering stigma of filth and decay, then business will return.
We need to scrap political agendas and focus on the future of Philadelphia.

(sorry if I sound like a raging liberal here and I don't mean to direct this at you personally Skyscraper, but I just care about my city.)

[PhillySteaks]

Old adage: Any publicity is good publicity. Regardless the politics/nonsense.

It'll be exactly the same when the pope comes. Inevitably there will be more people within Center City when the pope says mass on the parkway and the city will be much more under the international magnifying glass than when Hillary makes her debut. Plus, I'd heavily speculate the DNC will wind up in Brooklyn. I'd love to have it hear, but Brooklyn is a better come back story if that's what they're going for.

[Outta here]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Hope that is right. I was trying to google search for "urban blight" features in connection with the last DNC and didn't really see anything. So that's a good sign .

Don't need the DNC , visit from the Pope , major awards ceremony or
convention events to to expose any problems . The city is no utopia , but
no damsel in distress either . The good news is , it's changing .... for the better .
I like what I see taking place , and if current or future events can be
drowned by negative press articles , I can't blame the city , I blame the press ............

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by PhillySteaks

Inevitably there will be more people within Center City when the pope says mass on the parkway

True.

Originally Posted by PhillySteaks

and the city will be much more under the international magnifying glass than when Hillary makes her debut.

Perhaps for the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, but for the 5.8 billion other people? Not so much. The nomination of a potential US President--and especially the first female one with the international fame and stature of Hillary--is still a bigger story world-wide than the Pope's saying Mass, even if it is on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Originally Posted by PhillySteaks

Plus, I'd heavily speculate the DNC will wind up in Brooklyn. I'd love to have it hear, but Brooklyn is a better come back story if that's what they're going for.

You may want to reconsider that:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post...vention-now-is-never-coming-to-brooklyn/

In any event, we'll find out soon enough.

[PhillySteaks]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

True.



Perhaps for the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, but for the 5.8 billion other people? Not so much. The nomination of a potential US President--and especially the first female one with the international fame and stature of Hillary--is still a bigger story world-wide than the Pope's saying Mass, even if it is on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.



You may want to reconsider that:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post...vention-now-is-never-coming-to-brooklyn/

In any event, we'll find out soon enough.

Considering Nearly half the country doesn't care about Hillary or democrats in general(not being a jerk, that's just the truth considering the amount of democrats, independents, and republicans) I'd disagree with that, and the world for that matter could give two shits about repubs or dems. Whether it's liked or not the pope will be covered very very very very thoroughly on just about every news outlet for the time he's here. The pope hasn't visited the states since the 80s I believe, not to mention he's one of the most liked liberal popes in history, so this will not be a small issue/gathering by any means. Republicans/democrats are in the US. Catholics are worldwide. Hillary does not by any means have international fame...except maybe in Libya.

Also, definitely not reconsidering Brooklyn. There's ups and downs just like this city, but NYC is a different ball game and a much more watched city with a butt ton more money. So it really depends on what they're going for. I'm not going to argue this point though so it's moot. It's not development related. If you would like to make a side bet on where the DNC ends up though I'm all ears.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by PhillySteaks

Considering Nearly half the country doesn't care about Hillary or democrats in general I'd disagree with that, and the world for that matter could give two shits about repubs or dems. Whether it's liked or not the pope will be covered very very very very thoroughly on just about every news outlet for the time he's here. The pope hasn't visited the states since the 80s I believe, not to mention he's one of the most liked liberal popes in history, so this will not be a small issue/gathering by any means. Republicans/democrats are in the US. Catholics are worldwide. Hillary does not by any means have international fame...except maybe in Libya.

Also, definitely not reconsidering Brooklyn. There's ups and downs just like this city, but NYC is a different ball game and a much more watched city with a butt ton more money. So it really depends on what they're going for. I'm not going to argue this point though so it's moot. It's not development related.

Well much less than half of America cares about the pope, so I don't really get your point. Also in the parts of the world that matter as far as potential to invest in Philadelphia development, they care a lot more about American politics due to its effect on the global economy than a man who some think has the ear of a magical mystical man in the sky.

Also the idea that Hilary doesn't have global name recognition is just wrong.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by PhillySteaks

If you would like to make a side bet on where the DNC ends up though I'm all ears.

I'd be up for that.

Problem is, it could go to Columbus and we'd both be left with bupkis.

[Larry King]

It won't be Brooklyn. Chances are in Philly's favor, Columbus is a dark horse

[kilbride102]

Media coverage of the dnc or rnc will probably focus more on protests and the police response. There will be some aerial views and intro shots, but most of the coveage will be on the talking heads.

[philatonian]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

I have faith that something awesome will come of all of this.

If this was Pittsburgh we're talking about here, I would not be getting my hopes up! That's another ball of wax, tho. I've seen what Philly has been doing over the years, and so far I like. The CITC (why can't they just call it Comcast Two or Two Comcast Center and refer to 1701 JFK as One Comcast?) is going to look awesome once it's finished. I do kinda wish that building was going to be a few floors taller tho.

I agree. I think developers are tiptoeing around the Delaware River waiting to see what happens. But I also think that the DRWC is finally taking some cues from the SRDC and realizing that the east part of Center City wants some river action too. This city - and it's rivers - feel vastly different than they did when I moved here about ten years ago, and I anticipate an even more dramatic change in the next decade, maybe even less than a decade.

As for the CITC, I don't mind the acronym (now that I've remembered how to spell it), but yeah, I do wish it was at least technically as tall as the first Comcast tower. I don't think the spire makes it look like the tallest building in the city, I think it makes it look like it's trying to be the tallest building in the city. Who knows? I'm looking forward to Comcast 3, maybe on the Disney Hole

[BenKatzPhillytoParis]

Some food for thought regarding the possible scale of what shall replace Penn Tower. Of the top 5 tallest hospitals in the world, only 2 (the tallest, built in Hong Kong, and the 3rd tallest, built in Chicago) have been built in the last 15 years (to reflect current standards). The one in HK is 38 stories, 487 feet, and 480 beds. The one in Chicago (the most recent in the list) is 24 stories, 447 feet, and 288 beds. Obviously it's impossible to directly extrapolate from these numbers, but since this project will have 700 beds and 50 operating rooms, it does seem reasonable to infer that it will definitely have some height.

If I remember correctly, GarCastle showed models that contained several towers, perhaps lowering the height in that case. The article in PBJ and related article in Philly Mag, however, said "a tower". The fact that Foster was chosen on this is the best news of all.

[1487]

Did anyone figure out what happened with Naked Philly? Last i check no posts for about a week. I haven't seen anything like that since I started checking the site a couple years ago.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by 1487

Did anyone figure out what happened with Naked Philly? Last i check no posts for about a week. I haven't seen anything like that since I started checking the site a couple years ago.

Maybe they've gone quite due to Ori's political aspirations? I actually sent an email yesterday trying to find out and haven't heard anything back yet, so this is just speculation.

It's a shame, no one highlighted small projects like Naked Philly.

[McBane]

A little late to the Inga party, but...

Inga is a C-R-I-T-I-C and she's just doing her job. Would everyone prefer instead a folksy, everything-is-great, type of critic? Anyone remember that glowing review of an Olive Garden a few years back? Is that really what we want?

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by BenKatzPhillytoParis

Some food for thought regarding the possible scale of what shall replace Penn Tower. Of the top 5 tallest hospitals in the world, only 2 (the tallest, built in Hong Kong, and the 3rd tallest, built in Chicago) have been built in the last 15 years (to reflect current standards). The one in HK is 38 stories, 487 feet, and 480 beds. The one in Chicago (the most recent in the list) is 24 stories, 447 feet, and 288 beds. Obviously it's impossible to directly extrapolate from these numbers, but since this project will have 700 beds and 50 operating rooms, it does seem reasonable to infer that it will definitely have some height.

If I remember correctly, GarCastle showed models that contained several towers, perhaps lowering the height in that case. The article in PBJ and related article in Philly Mag, however, said "a tower". The fact that Foster was chosen on this is the best news of all.

For anyone interested, here is GarCastle's post containing the photos of the model of the possible new Penn Medicine towers:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=6666960&postcount=4075

[PhiLaw]

Originally Posted by McBane

A little late to the Inga party, but...

Inga is a C-R-I-T-I-C and she's just doing her job. Would everyone prefer instead a folksy, everything-is-great, type of critic? Anyone remember that glowing review of an Olive Garden a few years back? Is that really what we want?

You're conflating the adjective and profession aspect of the word. A critic is simply one who judge's the merits of another's word in an objective manner. If it was her job to criticize even when the work is objectively good then it would be a sham. Inga's a destructionist, nothing more nothing less.

[Larry King]

Originally Posted by PhiLaw

You're conflating the adjective and profession aspect of the word. A critic is simply one who judge's the merits of another's word in an objective manner. If it was her job to criticize even when the work is objectively good then it would be a sham. Inga's a destructionist, nothing more nothing less.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Complaining and tearing stuff down is the philadelphia way

What i don't like about Inga is the complex she seems to have that Boston and NYC are somehow better than Philly, totally infuriating and not close to being true

[Cro Burnham]

Originally Posted by Larry King

What i don't like about Inga is the complex she seems to have that Boston and NYC are somehow better than Philly, totally infuriating and not close to being true

C'mon, they are kind of better in many (not all, of course) ways, particularly New York. I mean, I'm Philly through and through, but no city in North America holds a candle to New York.

Boston is kind of small, but its downtown hits way above the city's weight class. It has a much more sophisticated tradition of urban design than Philly. Part of that has to do with the fact that it's always been more of a white collar than a blue collar city. Working class cities like Philly never had as much time for the niceties of more bourgeois cities.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by Cro Burnham

C'mon, they are kind of better in many (not all, of course) ways, particularly New York. I mean, I'm Philly through and through, but no city in North America holds a candle to New York.

Boston is kind of small, but its downtown hits way above the city's weight class. It has a much more sophisticated tradition of urban design than Philly. Part of that has to do with the fact that it's always been more of a white collar than a blue collar city. Working class cities like Philly never had as much time for the niceties of more bourgeois cities.

Philly is a lot like an onion. There are many layers to Philly from the wealthy to the poor; the pretty to the ugly; the lack of pretentiousness to full pretensions; the ability to roam a big city and not feel trap; a very good diverse crowd of white collar and blue collar workers to meet and mingle with, artists, tree-huggers, college students, grad students, scientist, entrepreneurs, fine restaurants and greasy spoons, museums, and everything in between. That's what makes Philly special...we are not insulated like some other cities and we don't need the unwarranted national or international limelight (for obvious reasons if you follow the news), but yes occasional we will get it (i.e., Pope 2015) and it serves us well. Philly offers the full spectrum of a REAL city...real social and economic triumphs and issues and yes we have some disadvantages, but it's a city that is hard to be bore of...especially the recent building boom not just from local but national developers. Philly is the best that's it been in a while...

[BenKatzPhillytoParis]

Originally Posted by PhiLaw

You're conflating the adjective and profession aspect of the word. A critic is simply one who judge's the merits of another's word in an objective manner. If it was her job to criticize even when the work is objectively good then it would be a sham. Inga's a destructionist, nothing more nothing less.

I just really don't get where this narrative of Inga comes from. She likes at least 40% of what she writes about, which is impressive considering a lot of the bland thoughtless stuff that unsurprisingly gets built. I mean heck, just doing a cursory review of the major projects that are on here, her articles have generally ranged from decidedly positive to mixed reactions (balanced in pointing out both good and bad—which seems to be exactly the purpose of critics).

Just to rattle off a few in no particular order:

CITC, Comcast 1, Barnes Foundation, FMC, Cira Centre, East Market, The Summit, 36-Market, Franklin Institute addition, Sister Cities park, Race Street Pier, Boardwalk, dilworth plaza, SLS, Evo...all these she reviewed positively on balance, some of them extremely positively; and this was just a list i generated practically without thinking in about 10 seconds. So frankly I am baffled by the strong feelings she elicits of being a "whiner", "destructionist", etc. Makes no sense.