PHILADELPHIA | The Bridge | 197 FT | 17 FLOORS

[SJPhillyBoy]

Originally Posted by McBane

I just have to say it again, this design is awesome. Not just the tower, but the entire building from top to bottom. Most other architects would have chickened out and put this tower on a boring red brick base. This tower will stand out from all angles. Bravo!

I agree. This is a real beauty. I am looking forward to seeing this go up. Great addition to the city.

[Jawnadelphia]

We need to get Brown Hill to develop 1900 Chestnut -- and in a hurry! (I wish).
This one is badass ... very cool impression will be made upon those travelling on the Ben Franklin.

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Awesome! Thanks for the update Mikieman!

That's really nice. Modern and elegant, and it respects the streetwall and the pedestrian scale of the street.

[Flyers2001]

lot has been cleared and building supplies are on site. I have been hounding this project for years. FINALLY!

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Flyers2001

lot has been cleared and building supplies are on site. I have been hounding this project for years. FINALLY!

Given the amazing ability of greater Center City to absorb the new supply of housing these days, I think we can expect to see a lot of dormant projects come to life.

[summersm343]

After 15 years, apartment tower finally breaking ground in Old City

Armed with a $45 million construction loan from Citizens Bank, Brown Hill Development is scheduled to break ground Wednesday on the Bridge, a 17-story apartment tower in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia.

The project has been a longtime coming and that’s not lost on Jeffrey Brown, president of the Huntingdon Valley, Pa., development company.

“It’s been a long haul,” Brown said. “A long haul is an understatement, but it’s happening.”

The project is now called the Bridge and will have 146 apartments and 13,480 square feet of retail space. It is scheduled to be completed by early 2017. At that time, Brown will figure out final rents, but they are expected to be around $1,900 for a studio, $2,300 for a one-bedroom and $2,500 for a two-bedroom.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...hill-development-bridge-race-street.html

[cafeguy]

Every time a crappy development is proposed and approved, I get so incredibly fumed (I'm looking at you betsy ross townhomes). I wonder to myself when Philly will finally stand up and demand not just development, but GOOD development, GOOD URBAN development. Not just the RCOs, but also the committees that stand to deny approvals for projects.

I am beginning to realize that it isn't going to happen by getting smarter people or dwindling the voices of RCOs. Its going to happen as more and more projects are well designed. I spoke to Inga last year about how all the projects in philly look so bad while projects in Bellevue WA across the river from Seattle looks so good even though there is NO population. She said it was money. More money means better design. But I think it is going to be a critical mass situation. As more projects like "the bridge" get built, residents and committee members are going to stand up and say, "Hey, they did a good job. Why the hell can't YOU do it too!?"

I say this here because the Mt Sinai project got canned last night and one of the responses was saying how their crappy project does nothing for the neighborhood while 205 race does so much! As more "grand" projects come online and we are not longer fighting for ANY investment in our city to come in, we become more aware and more able to fight for development that does so much more for us as a city.

http://planphilly.com/articles/2015/08/0...to-make-design-changes-return-in-a-month

[McBane]

Brown Hill had expected to break ground on Old City 205 in September 2005, but it got delayed after proposing a couple of other iterations which were taller that failed to get support from the civic association.

I don't remember how tall the rejected iteration was, but probably not 17 floors. In your face NIMBYs! In any case, the delay paid off.

[New2Fishtown]

The ongoing increase in apartment rental rates opens the door wider for better quality construction (the more a developer can make on the project, the more they can spend on design and materials while still achieving the same return). It was not so long ago in philly that the low rents and high construction costs left very small margins, which has a way of stifling creativity on the development side (just trying to avoid risk). Let's hope that the city continues to command increasingly high rents for new construction product, and that this continues to translate into above par design. There's always going to be lazy developers who want to execute fast and do the bare minimum for maximum reward, but I think there's some truth to the fact that quality can help breed more quality.

[jsbrook]

Throwing a shitstorm helps. So dare I say NIMBYs?? But not those who resist all development around them. But those who insist on quality. Look what the neighborhood did with 1900 Chestnut. Got Pearl to reconsider that POS they wanted to build. Of course, we have yet to see the design of the replacement tower so the jury is still out. But stunning that they were able to, at least initially, stymie an awful building.

Originally Posted by cafeguy

Every time a crappy development is proposed and approved, I get so incredibly fumed (I'm looking at you betsy ross townhomes). I wonder to myself when Philly will finally stand up and demand not just development, but GOOD development, GOOD URBAN development. Not just the RCOs, but also the committees that stand to deny approvals for projects.

I am beginning to realize that it isn't going to happen by getting smarter people or dwindling the voices of RCOs. Its going to happen as more and more projects are well designed. I spoke to Inga last year about how all the projects in philly look so bad while projects in Bellevue WA across the river from Seattle looks so good even though there is NO population. She said it was money. More money means better design. But I think it is going to be a critical mass situation. As more projects like "the bridge" get built, residents and committee members are going to stand up and say, "Hey, they did a good job. Why the hell can't YOU do it too!?"

I say this here because the Mt Sinai project got canned last night and one of the responses was saying how their crappy project does nothing for the neighborhood while 205 race does so much! As more "grand" projects come online and we are not longer fighting for ANY investment in our city to come in, we become more aware and more able to fight for development that does so much more for us as a city.

http://planphilly.com/articles/2015/08/0...to-make-design-changes-return-in-a-month

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Throwing a shitstorm helps. So dare I say NIMBYs?? But not those who resist all development around them. But those who insist on quality. Look what the neighborhood did with 1900 Chestnut. Got Pearl to reconsider that POS they wanted to build. Of course, we have yet to see the design of the replacement tower so the jury is still out. But stunning that they were able to, at least initially, stymie an awful building.

It's not really a NIMBY b/c they are, by their very name, anti nearby development. Ideally, it's a YIMBY - but the design needs to not suck ass.

So a YIMBYBTDNTNSA.

[Flyers2001]

There is a huge tent up on site, groundbreaking ceremony soon or just happened. Awesome to see!

[Larry King]

[...............................

[summersm343]

Developers, officials break ground on new apartment tower at 205 Race

http://planphilly.com/articles/2015/08/0...round-on-new-apartment-tower-at-205-race

Long Time Coming: Ground Broken at 205 Race Street for Apartment Tower

http://www.phillymag.com/property/2015/0...-at-205-race-street-for-apartment-tower/

[blart]

I remember when the old Litho building was torn down, and then this site sat empty for sooo long.

I have friends who live a couple doors over and one directly across the street, so their block is going to be bit hectic for quite a while. Glad that it's turned out to be such a decent looking project.

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by cafeguy

I say this here because the Mt Sinai project got canned last night and one of the responses was saying how their crappy project does nothing for the neighborhood while 205 race does so much! As more "grand" projects come online and we are not longer fighting for ANY investment in our city to come in, we become more aware and more able to fight for development that does so much more for us as a city.

http://planphilly.com/articles/2015/08/0...to-make-design-changes-return-in-a-month

Mt Sinai is a cluster. Its previous iteration (adaptive reuse of the existing hospital complex, redevelopment of excessive "open space") was so much better. Flattening and just building cookie-cutter rowhomes sucks soooo bad.

[/offtopic rant]

[Jawnadelphia]

[IMG]Untitled by screennameLLC, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Untitled by screennameLLC, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Larry King]

.........

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by Larry King

what's the point of ground breaking ceremonies if you don't actually break ground?

Press, usually.

[Mappy]

Maybe we could start promoting "The Billboard" as an unofficial nickname for this building.
(not joking)
After all, if it is going to be named after the most prominent landscape feature in it's neighborhood, wouldn't that be it? Could help bring the issue to a front.