PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[summersm343]

More University City Science Center Expansion

$1 billion plan to transform University City site
From the Philadelphia Business Journal

Wexford Science + Technology has an initial plan to spend $1 billion over the next 10 or so years developing 2.52 million square feet on the former University City High School site.

The plan was unveiled about a week after Wexford and the University City Science Center announced they had teamed up to expand the Science Center on that property as well as other land the Science Center controls.

The high school property totals 14 acres and Wexford plans to develop 10 of it with office, residential and retail space with the Science Center.

The remaining four acres will be used for a new K-through-8 school that Drexel University has in the planning stages, although it is expected to be similar to the Penn Alexander School, located at 42nd and Spruce streets, that the University of Pennsylvania opened in 2001.

Wexford has broken down the high school property into six development parcels: 3750 Lancaster Ave.; three separate sites at 225 N. 38 th St.; 115 N. 38 th St.; and 3701 Filbert St. It expects to get underway by the end of this year on 300-unit residential project that will have a retail component at 3750 Lancaster Ave.

On a separate Science Center property unrelated to the high school, Wexford also expects to move forward with what is now being referred to as 3675 Market St., which will be an office building totaling at least 200,000 square feet.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...university-city-hs-powelton-village.html

[Outta here]

Originally Posted by summersm343

More University City Science Center Expansion

$1 billion plan to transform University City site
From the Philadelphia Business Journal









http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...university-city-hs-powelton-village.html

One really sweet post , thanks summers .

[acenturi]

Originally Posted by summersm343

"More University City Science Center Expansion"

$1 billion plan to transform University City site
From the Philadelphia Business Journal"

[xIMG]http://media.bizj.us/view/img/6156461/wexford-science-center-university-city-high-school-redevelopment-2.jpg[/IMG]

[xIMG]http://media.bizj.us/view/img/6158241/wexford-university-city-high-school-redevelopment.jpg[/IMG]

[xIMG]http://media.bizj.us/view/img/6158111/aerial-view-wexford-university-city-high-school-redevelopment-1.jpg[/IMG]>




http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...university-city-hs-powelton-village.html

If that comes to fruition, it'll solidify UC as unique from CC.

NOTE HOW I PRESERVED BANDWIDTH AND KEPT PAGE COUNT DOWN BY NOT REPRODUCING THE HUGE IMAGES IN MY REPLY, by simply inserting an "x", in front of each "IMG".

[Outta here]

Originally Posted by acenturi

If that comes to fruition, it'll solidify UC as unique from CC.

NOTE HOW I PRESERVED BANDWIDTH AND KEPT PAGE COUNT DOWN BY NOT REPRODUCING THE HUGE IMAGES IN MY REPLY, by simply inserting an "x", in front of each "IMG".

Note how I thought the project deserves a second look !

[Guipos08]

Originally Posted by summersm343

This is huge.

Here is the UCity Science Center expansion. Sent to me in an email this morning.

This is awesome! They even show 34 and 38 market added in this photo. I hope everything in this picture comes to fruition.

[ksb]

Originally Posted by Guipos08

This is awesome! They even show 34 and 38 market added in this photo. I hope everything in this picture comes to fruition.

Not me -- if this all came to fruition, ACC would have to tear down The Summit and Drexel would have to flatten the roof of its gym.

[cafeguy]

You know...i'm in the sciences and struggling to choose the right research location for my next step after finishing my PhD. Seeing this last night flipped a switch in me, making me choose Philly over Hopkins...simply because I realize how much energy is in this city. THIS is exciting.

Originally Posted by summersm343

More University City Science Center Expansion

[summersm343]

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care exterior is complete.
14 floors
292 feet

Going to move the thread to the Completed Threads Archive shortly!











A TON more photos and link to the building's thread here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=7062096#post7062096

[lsksl]

Your contributions are great, summersm343!
It would be cool if you posted these updates on the Skyscrapercity site as well. Philly gets no attention there! And there's so much going on in Philly.
Anyway, thank you for keeping us posted!

[McBane]

Originally Posted by summersm343

More University City Science Center Expansion
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...university-city-hs-powelton-village.html

This is fantastic. Two quick comments:

1. My only complaint - kinda wish they were re-introducing 37th St as a pedestrian street only but I know those can be very risky. Still, I think they should have at least tried. But that's a very minor issue on the whole.

2. This project goes beyond the buildings. My hope is that it solidifies UC as one the nation's top research and science areas, in the same level as Cambridge and NC's Research Triangle; and that it helps pour VC money into the city (relative to our city's size, we lag far behind in this category).

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by McBane

2. This project goes beyond the buildings. My hope is that it solidifies UC as one the nation's top research and science areas, in the same level as Cambridge and NC's Research Triangle; and that it helps pour VC money into the city (relative to our city's size, we lag far behind in this category).

Amen! Penn and CHOP are already R&D behemoths, consistently finishing among the top 3-5 institutions in the country in terms of NIH research funding. To also build up the private and entrepreneurial side of R&D in the Science Center (along with other centers like Penn's Pennovation Works--albeit not technically in UC--and Drexel's Innovation Neighborhood), would be HUGE.

[PhiLaw]

http://planphilly.com/articles/2015/06/12/commission-approves-apartment-tower-at-7th-and-chestnut

[McBane]

Here's another article on the Sci Center expansion - I think this one is more detailed than the ones posted on Philly.com and the Biz Journal.

http://www.phillymag.com/property/2015/06/12/science-center/#more-2969091

As part of Phase 1...

On Market Street, a 200,000-square-foot, "at least LEED Silver certified" office building called 3675 Market would replace a "flex building" and a parking garage in order to create the extension of 37th Street to Market Street. The new tower will become the new headquarters for the Science Center. Corner retail is also a possibility at the newly created intersection. Construction on these first phases projects is expected to get underway by the end of the year.

This is addition by subtraction. The current 3675 building and garage are hideous and very anti-urban. However, don't expect another high rise. The lot is very wide and 200,000 sf is not very much space. For reference, 3401 Market is 18 floors and 434,000 sf and 3737 Market is 13 floors and 334,000 sf. I don't know why they're not going higher BUT this is still a win. The new structure will almost likely be taller than 2 floors (maybe 6-8?) and much more urban (already stating they want retail here on the new corner).

Here's the thread to 3401 Market: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=216955

And here's the googlemaps link to 3675 Market: https://goo.gl/maps/31PkV

I hope the building across the street is a "flex building" too, LOL

[PhiLaw]

http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/gr...for-the-other-corner-of-broad-washington

[onephil]

Originally Posted by PhiLaw

http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/gr...for-the-other-corner-of-broad-washington

This projects is ridiculous. Mass the project to twice its proposed size. Reduce parking component and place as an underground garage. I appreciate the preservation of the rail shed. This is great! But a design needs to be incorporated that respects the integrity and draws the eye to the shed.

I understand this is simply a massing. But after seeing the the renderings for 1900 Chestnut, 700 Chestnut, Marketplace Design Center. And seeing the completion of 1900 Arch and AQ Rittenhouse. I am truly disappointed in this city's design community and the individuals that approve the integrity of build quality.

WE NEED TO DEMAND BETTER. Simple.

[MikeNigh]

Originally Posted by PhiLaw

http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/gr...for-the-other-corner-of-broad-washington

I'm not sure what I should expect this far south of market however it seems like the parking is smart. Definitely modest with the tower height (especially considering how much parking is provided). I would be cool with this one being intentionally kept shorter if it meant the one across the street could be taller, however in that case I'd like to see the one across the street built first. Otherwise imo yet another 1900 arch that'll have to permanently face what it should have been.

It seems that philly is having trouble breaking out of the mind set that this is destined to be an eventual mega urban city and will not be driven by regional rail access / stations like it currently is. Having this much parking will eventually be embarrassing this close to the subway station.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by PhiLaw

http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/gr...for-the-other-corner-of-broad-washington

Just pulling and posting the massing rendering and some quotes from the article:

A recently posted listing on Loopnet for a project called Lincoln Square gives us an indication that planning for the northwest corner is happening as well. We've heard rumblings in recent months that Toll Brothers was working on something for this parcel, and the listing provides definitive evidence that someone is cooking something up here.

According to the listing, the project will contain 310 apartment units and over 70K sqft of retail space, already listed for lease by Metro Commercial. The site plan suggests that the retail will be spread over eight different spaces of varying sizes.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by lsksl

Your contributions are great, summersm343!
It would be cool if you posted these updates on the Skyscrapercity site as well. Philly gets no attention there! And there's so much going on in Philly.
Anyway, thank you for keeping us posted!

Haha thanks! I try to keep everything organized. I've thought about getting the Philly section of Skyscrapercity together as well, but haven't found the spare time to do it yet. Feel free to copy and of my posts/pictures and post them on Skyscrapercity in the meantime!

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by PhiLaw

http://planphilly.com/articles/2015/06/12/commission-approves-apartment-tower-at-7th-and-chestnut

There is a thread for this here
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=216297

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by McBane

Here's another article on the Sci Center expansion - I think this one is more detailed than the ones posted on Philly.com and the Biz Journal.

http://www.phillymag.com/property/2015/06/12/science-center/#more-2969091

As part of Phase 1...



This is addition by subtraction. The current 3675 building and garage are hideous and very anti-urban. However, don't expect another high rise. The lot is very wide and 200,000 sf is not very much space. For reference, 3401 Market is 18 floors and 434,000 sf and 3737 Market is 13 floors and 334,000 sf. I don't know why they're not going higher BUT this is still a win. The new structure will almost likely be taller than 2 floors (maybe 6-8?) and much more urban (already stating they want retail here on the new corner).

Here's the thread to 3401 Market: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=216955

And here's the googlemaps link to 3675 Market: https://goo.gl/maps/31PkV

I hope the building across the street is a "flex building" too, LOL

I really don't think it will be too stubby. They will be expanding 37th Street to branch off of Market, which will eat up some space. Judging by the aerial renderings provided by Wexford and posted above, it looks like 3675 Market could be between 8 and 10 floors.