PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[josef]

Huh. Maybe someone should study the correlation between software engineering and architecture enthusiasm.

[MikeNigh]

Every software engineer would rather be building buildings.

[philatonian]

Originally Posted by josef

I've been a software engineer for 7 years and I actually really like open floor plans. And places that are too quiet make me sad. And glass lets in light?

I've worked in software since AOL was the Google of its time, in almost every position within the field, and you are 100% correct. I mean, individually, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but as far as the industry consensus, open floor plans work and yield the best results.

I've worked as a developer in open-desk environments with too many distractions as well as closed-door offices where the only distraction is the internet. And the best environment is an open floor with four-foot high cubicles where others can see your work, but you have enough privacy to get in the zone. You need a balance.

Beyond the smaller IT companies that can offer that environment in an urban setting, there is also something to be said of suburban office parks in places like the Silicone and Cascade Valleys. And I kind of wonder how Comcast, who seems to be trying to get into the IT game, is going to fare with their vertical campus in the CITC.

It's one thing to walk from CC1 to CC4 at AOL (sorry for the dated AOL reference, I don't know Google's campus), but it's another to go down to the lobby from 9 and up to 40 for a meeting. Suburban campuses, as bland as they look from the outside, do offer a much more creative environment than office towers can, at least IMO. I know a lot of people think of software development as an "office job," but it's a creative process and the environment is extremely important.

Again, I think smaller IT companies can make that work in an urban environment, but I kind of wonder if Comcast isn't treading into a territory that other successful suburban IT valleys have already discovered don't work. There's a reason that IT companies stray to the suburbs. Google and Microsoft could easily afford San Francisco and Seattle, but their headquarters aren't there for a strategic reason.

[allovertown]

http://mobile.philly.com/business/?wss=/philly/business&id=299791931

First images of the Gallery redesign.

[giantSwan]

Originally Posted by philatonian

I've worked in software since AOL was the Google of its time, in almost every position within the field, and you are 100% correct. I mean, individually, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but as far as the industry consensus, open floor plans work and yield the best results.

I've worked as a developer in open-desk environments with too many distractions as well as closed-door offices where the only distraction is the internet. And the best environment is an open floor with four-foot high cubicles where others can see your work, but you have enough privacy to get in the zone. You need a balance.

Beyond the smaller IT companies that can offer that environment in an urban setting, there is also something to be said of suburban office parks in places like the Silicone and Cascade Valleys. And I kind of wonder how Comcast, who seems to be trying to get into the IT game, is going to fare with their vertical campus in the CITC.

It's one thing to walk from CC1 to CC4 at AOL (sorry for the dated AOL reference, I don't know Google's campus), but it's another to go down to the lobby from 9 and up to 40 for a meeting. Suburban campuses, as bland as they look from the outside, do offer a much more creative environment than office towers can, at least IMO. I know a lot of people think of software development as an "office job," but it's a creative process and the environment is extremely important.

Again, I think smaller IT companies can make that work in an urban environment, but I kind of wonder if Comcast isn't treading into a territory that other successful suburban IT valleys have already discovered don't work. There's a reason that IT companies stray to the suburbs. Google and Microsoft could easily afford San Francisco and Seattle, but their headquarters aren't there for a strategic reason.

Google is in midtown manhattan....

[Philly-Drew]

Originally Posted by philatonian

I've worked in software since AOL was the Google of its time, in almost every position within the field, and you are 100% correct. I mean, individually, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but as far as the industry consensus, open floor plans work and yield the best results.

Beyond the smaller IT companies that can offer that environment in an urban setting, there is also something to be said of suburban office parks in places like the Silicone and Cascade Valleys. And I kind of wonder how Comcast, who seems to be trying to get into the IT game, is going to fare with their vertical campus in the CITC.

CITC sure looks like it has an open floor plan to me based on the videos and renderings I've seen. It just doesn't have a sprawling open floor plan.

[Kidphilly]

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150415_PREIT_reveals_the_Gallery_s_new_look.html

Release on gallery new look

[josef]

Originally Posted by Kidphilly

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150415_PREIT_reveals_the_Gallery_s_new_look.html

Release on gallery new look

Reminds me of the Galleria in Cambridge:

[1487]

im blown away by how much money PREIT is looking for here. Way more than I expected. I thought they were working on a $100M plan or something- not a $575M plan.

[ILovePhilly]

Originally Posted by 1487

im blown away by how much money PREIT is looking for here. Way more than I expected. I thought they were working on a $100M plan or something- not a $575M plan.

and in the end it's still a really boring indoor mall. Blech.

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by 1487

im blown away by how much money PREIT is looking for here. Way more than I expected. I thought they were working on a $100M plan or something- not a $575M plan.

There is no effing way that that's how much they're actually looking for ... I mean somebody has to have told the higher-ups that that's just excessive!

Never mind:

The city will invest about $113 million in the project over time, according to Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger. That includes $55 million during the next 20 years under a plan that would let PREIT apply expected future property and other tax increases to Gallery upgrades. The city would pay an additional $58 million over the next 45 years in capital improvement and easement-maintenance costs.

The state is being asked to contribute $35.5 million, of which $15.5 million is already committed. The total project is worth $575 million, the company said.

[Mappy]

Originally Posted by ILovePhilly

and in the end it's still a really boring indoor mall. Blech.

Yes! pretty much.
Its still a bland gray, brutalist exterior, and a generic shopping mall interior. They're just building a contemporary entryway, and put a few new finishes inside. The most important change is having some of the new store fronts facing Market Street, and they barely even let you get a look at that in the renderings.

[1487]

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

There is no effing way that that's how much they're actually looking for ... I mean somebody has to have told the higher-ups that that's just excessive!

Never mind:

Im seeing different figures, the official city press release mentions $90M in public money, but it seems that only the $55m TIF is upfront money from the city

[1487]

Originally Posted by Mappy

Yes! pretty much.
Its still a bland gray, brutalist exterior, and a generic shopping mall interior. They're just building a contemporary entryway, and put a few new finishes inside. The most important change is having some of the new store fronts facing Market Street, and they barely even let you get a look at that in the renderings.

I think biggest difference for the outside will be continuous glass storefronts that mimic a true urban retail corridor as opposed to a 3 story vertical mall. Having more doors and glass face the street will make a difference, some restaurants with sidewalk cafes would be nice. Im not feeling the decision to skip a movie complex. CC could use a nice multiplex and the gallery has PLENTY of room. Good luck finding 125 tenants when you are competing with East Market and the Brickstone project. They should offer more than stores in that huge building.

[Kidphilly]

Originally Posted by Mappy

Yes! pretty much.
Its still a bland gray, brutalist exterior, and a generic shopping mall interior. They're just building a contemporary entryway, and put a few new finishes inside. The most important change is having some of the new store fronts facing Market Street, and they barely even let you get a look at that in the renderings.

agree this release suspiciously has zero mention of this type of change and seems to do nothing to change the street frontage. Net is a brighter outlet mal self contained and separate from the city, minimal improvement in the end

even their comparison by o'hare is a mall surrounded by elevated parking and a casino from my memory

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by Kidphilly

agree this release suspiciously has zero mention of this type of change and seems to do nothing to change the street frontage. Net is a brighter outlet mal self contained and separate from the city, minimal improvement in the end

It does, from the article:

The fortresslike Market Street exterior of the mall would be broken down and replaced with glass storefronts, admitting shoppers and natural light. Glass railings and new escalators would add to an airy rejuvenation.

The exterior of the new mall would feature several big lighted signs, similar to those that have provoked controversy elsewhere in Philadelphia.

And:

The awkward descending stairs at Ninth and Market Streets would disappear, replaced by a grand street-level glass entrance.

[josef]

Originally Posted by ILovePhilly

and in the end it's still a really boring indoor mall. Blech.

Agree.

[summersm343]

Here is an exterior photo of the Gallery



Interior



9th Street underpass



http://www.phillymag.com/property/2015/0...-have-finally-been-revealed/#gallery-2-2

[summersm343]

Independence Blue Cross takes big lease at Stock Exchange Building in Center City

Independence Blue Cross will lease a significant portion of 1900 Market St. in Center City to consolidate offices it has in the suburbs.

IBC has decided to take 112,000 square feet, or two floors, of the 456,922-square-foot building that many know as the Stock Exchange.

The move had been considered by the insurer for a while.

It expects to move those operations early next year.

The property sits directly across from its headquarters at 1901 Market St., a 50-story, 760,000-square-foot building in which it will continue to occupy.

By expanding into 1900 Market, IBC begins to form an urban campus of sorts along West Market Street. Aside from occupying 1901 Market, IBC has installed what it calls an innovation center in 5,000 square feet at 1700 Market and has leased a portion of space at 1919 Market, a 29-story mixed-use building totaling 455,000 square feet that is under construction and will have 24,000 square feet of office and retail space.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...ig-lease-at-stock-exchange-building.html

[josef]

Originally Posted by summersm343

http://www.phillymag.com/property/2015/0...-have-finally-been-revealed/#gallery-2-2

The density of scalies in these renderings bothers me. I don't think I've ever seen that many people around there in my life. They must be building one amazing mall.