PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX - Page 525

Cro Burnham · #**10481** Posted **Feb 19, 2016, 7:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1487

There are very few patronage jobs left in the City's actual government . . . . . let me know when you can find an instance of Brady taking a strong position on any city regulations that are directly related to development or tax policy.. . . .

Straw men.

My bad. I should have remembered that having a conversation with a concrete wall is more rewarding and interesting than trying to discuss reality with you.

Sorry to the rest of the posters for wasting thread space with this latest back and forth.

Outta here · #**10482** Posted **Feb 19, 2016, 10:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cro Burnham

Sorry to the rest of the posters for wasting thread space with this latest back and forth.

No problem here . I figure the more posts , the sooner we get to Thread X ..... What say yea ,
summers ??

eaglesfant37 · #**10483** Posted **Feb 20, 2016, 1:07 AM**

Hey all. Long time lurker here. I am originally from Eastern PA and have tons of family in the Philly area but have since moved to Milwaukee for school. It is nice seeing all of this great development occurring in Philly. I remember watching the Comcast Center rise not too long ago, but the amount of development now is insane.

jjv007 · #**10484** Posted **Feb 20, 2016, 2:12 AM**

Random factoid:
The Comcast Center is the sixth tallest completed building in the world that is not a supertall.

jsbrook · #**10485** Posted **Feb 21, 2016, 2:33 PM**

Anyone happen to know the details of tax and other relevant policies of Chicago? Or have a link to a good resource that spells them out? A ton of sizable companies there have recently moved or are moving from the suburbs to the city proper.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/c...s-are-over-0802-biz-20150731-column.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersm343

Job, education fixes needed to maintain demand for Center City apartment supply

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...enter-city-district-apartment-deman.html

jsbrook · #**10486** Posted **Feb 21, 2016, 2:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Anyone happen to know the details of tax and other relevant policies of Chicago? Or have a link to a good resource that spells them out? A ton of sizable companies there have recently moved or are moving from the suburbs to the city proper.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/c...s-are-over-0802-biz-20150731-column.html

Not to say Chicago doesn't have its fair share of problems (loved it during my brief time living there). But they must be doing right to see this business influx into the city. Philly has seen some but also plenty of outflow to the suburbs (which I, like Paul Levy, attribute largely to our noncompetitive tax policy).

BenKatzPhillytoParis · #**10487** Posted **Feb 21, 2016, 11:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Not to say Chicago doesn't have its fair share of problems (loved it during my brief time living there). But they must be doing right to see this business influx into the city. Philly has seen some but also plenty of outflow to the suburbs (which I, like Paul Levy, attribute largely to our noncompetitive tax policy).

I'm pretty sure Chicago does not have a competitive tax policy either. New York certainly doesn't. It's talent, transportation, and amenities that attract companies typically to world-class cities.

3rd&Brown · #**10488** Posted **Feb 21, 2016, 11:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenKatzPhillytoParis

I'm pretty sure Chicago does not have a competitive tax policy either. New York certainly doesn't. It's talent, transportation, and amenities that attract companies typically to world-class cities.

Traffic is on another level in Chicago.

I used to work for a company that was headquartered in Elmhurst, which was the first suburban town in Dupage County west of Cook County and even though it was just 12 miles from downtown, it would take me an hour and a half to get to the office if I was staying in a hotel in or near the loop.

I think gridlock in the Chicagoland area makes recruiting very difficult, not just in terms of city versus suburbs, but even among suburban areas. It would be very difficult to convince somebody to commute from Lake County (north), say, to Dupage (west). Being that the city is central for everybody and everybody has transit options nearby, it is sort of a no brainer/best compromise.

jsbrook · #**10489** Posted **Feb 21, 2016, 11:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenKatzPhillytoParis

I'm pretty sure Chicago does not have a competitive tax policy either. New York certainly doesn't. It's talent, transportation, and amenities that attract companies typically to world-class cities.

Probably not, but as bad as Philly's? Probably hard to get an apples to apples comparison. Too many variables. But I'd love to see some type of comparison between corporate tax burdens and those on company workers (i.e. wage tax) between different cities across the country. I agree that it's talent, transportation and amenities that attract companies to cities, but the worse the tax burden is, the harder it is for those attributes to overcome it.

MikeNigh · #**10490** Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 1:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Probably not, but as bad as Philly's? Probably hard to get an apples to apples comparison. Too many variables. But I'd love to see some type of comparison between corporate tax burdens and those on company workers (i.e. wage tax) between different cities across the country. I agree that it's talent, transportation and amenities that attract companies to cities, but the worse the tax burden is, the harder it is for those attributes to overcome it.

They should lower the taxes until the city builds up more then raise them.

Urbanthusiat · #**10491** Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 4:28 AM**

Two of three spinoff companies that will be created once Dow and DuPont finalize their $130 billion merger will be based in Delaware

Glad that Wilmington managed to not get totally shafted in this deal. Good for the region overall.

summersm343 · #**10492** Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 4:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Two of three spinoff companies that will be created once Dow and DuPont finalize their $130 billion merger will be based in Delaware

Glad that Wilmington managed to not get totally shafted in this deal. Good for the region overall.

Agreed.

1487 · #**10493** Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 1:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cro Burnham

Straw men.

My bad. I should have remembered that having a conversation with a concrete wall is more rewarding and interesting than trying to discuss reality with you.

Sorry to the rest of the posters for wasting thread space with this latest back and forth.

No it's called reality. When you post regarding the structure of city government and what is real vs mythology it's apparent you don't know much. Nothing wrong with that, the problem is when you infer you are knowledgeable about something you don't know squat about. That is when you should stay on the sidelines. Read up on the 1951 charter and understand why it was created. The entire point was to professionalize city government and create a firewall between elected officials and 99% of city positions.

1487 · #**10494** Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 1:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Not to say Chicago doesn't have its fair share of problems (loved it during my brief time living there). But they must be doing right to see this business influx into the city. Philly has seen some but also plenty of outflow to the suburbs (which I, like Paul Levy, attribute largely to our noncompetitive tax policy).

taxes are just one factor. After America went car crazy post WW2 the idea of offices surrounding by free parking because quite appealing. Suburban office parks became a nationwide phenomenon and to some degree job migration to areas with loads for free parking and (at the time) less congestion was inevitable. In the same way citizens were seeking housing types and density levels that the city didn't offer, companies were seeking wide open spaces and campus layouts that you weren't going to get in the city. When Philly is compared with other cities with superior performance in terms of retaining % of regional jobs or job growth the examples are cherry picked- i.e. you often see NYC and Boston selected because they compare favorably with Philadelphia. Using 2 handpicked examples doesn't tell you enough to really rate how Philly has done over past 30-40 years. I'd love to see a realistic comparison of tax burdens between major cities, but that's not something our local media spends a lot of time talking about.

Cro Burnham · #**10495** Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 3:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1487

the problem is when you infer you are knowledgeable about something you don't know squat about.

Could be the problem is when you use "infer" when you need to use "imply". Lesson 1: you inferred I know squat about something about which I implied I was knowledgeable.

Outta here · #**10496** Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 4:29 PM**

Philly’s city wage tax just turned 75. Here’s its dubious legacy
Three-quarters of a century ago (tomorrow, to be precise), Philadelphia became the first city to implement a local income tax. Since then, the wage tax has been seen as both a major job killer and, in startup circles, a minor consideration. Here's why it's still around — and how some hope to kill it before it turns 100.

Being #2 in some cases may be commendable , like winning the silver medal in your favorite Olympic sport ,
but being 2nd. in this particular event ...... sucks .

summersm343 · #**10497** Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 9:32 PM**

2108-10 Walnut Street - 9 floors - condo and ground floor retail

Not necessarily a skyscraper, but wanted to post it here anyways since this is a decently significant development. Will partially replace a rowhome on Walnut and also replace a small parking lot. Zoning notices are up on the site.

http://astoban.com/2108-10/

ePlanningPhila · #**10498** Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 9:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersm343

2108-10 Walnut Street - 9 floors - condo and ground floor retail

Not necessarily a skyscraper, but wanted to post it here anyways since this is a decently significant development. Will partially replace a rowhome on Walnut and also replace a small parking lot. Zoning notices are up on the site.

http://astoban.com/2108-10/

This looks great! Awesome integration of the existing architecture without being invasive, and a great way to add density to West Walnut, while respecting the architectural integrity of the street! Now if only the other two lux condo/townhome projects on West Walnut could be this dense!!! Quite honestly they both suck, especially Walnut Estates at 22nd/Walnut.

Jayfar · #**10499** Posted **Feb 23, 2016, 12:01 AM**

Budget stalemate puts a damper on developers' big plans for Philadelphia | Philadelphia Inquirer

Quote:

Updated: FEBRUARY 22, 2016 — 5:34 PM EST
by Jacob Adelman, Inquirer Staff Writer.

The Pennsylvania budget stalemate wreaking havoc on Philadelphia's school and social-service finances could soon claim another victim: the city's expanding skyline.

Officials in Harrisburg are holding back funds from a program aimed at helping large, transformative redevelopment projects until the eight-month impasse is resolved.

That has forced developers expecting funds from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) to delay - and consider downgrading - their big plans for the city.

"We're in the pack with other people," said Carl Dranoff, who applied for $20 million from the program for his SLS Lux hotel and condo project on South Broad Street. "We want to start in the summer, and we're not going to be able to do that unless this money becomes available pretty soon."

[snip]

For Dranoff, the funding holdup could be the difference between the SLS project retaining its hotel component or not. With Philadelphia room rates too low to underwrite hotel construction without public funding, the project may be reconceived as a condo-only development if the cash doesn't come through, he said.

He hasn't yet considered whether that would mean more condo units in the currently planned 47-story tower, or a smaller tower that retains the anticipated 90 units.

summersm343 · #**10500** Posted **Feb 23, 2016, 12:13 AM**

^^I just want to take the time to say fuck this state. Just when Philly is starting to get going and get off of the ground with it's renaissance, the state law makers still find a way to mess things up. We think the Philadelphia City government is bad... the state government is even worse, and may truly hold Philadelphia back from ever achieving it's full potential.

This could jeopardize some major important developments including the SLS, Gallery redevelopment, Chinatown Eastern Tower, Divine Lorraine redevelopment, 1300 Fairmount, Reading Viaduct trail, among others.

Not to mention the effect it's having on schools and businesses state wide.