PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX - Page 636

summersm343 · #**12701** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 6:36 PM**

Toll Brothers increases height of Jeweler's Row project

This is now a pretty exciting project honestly. At 29 floors, if this tower has the same floor to ceiling ratio as 500 Walnut, this tower could reach over 400 FT tall.

Quote:

Toll Brothers Inc. has upped how tall of a tower it wants to build along Jeweler’s Row in Philadelphia and is now proposing a 29-story building to loom over the historic street.

The homebuilder had initially sought to construct a 16-story structure that would rise from six parcels it controls along the 700 block of Sansom Street. However, after having bought the air rights to three additional neighboring properties, Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) is now able to boost the number of floors it plans to build, said Brian Emmons, a vice president at Toll Brothers. The properties that Toll Brothers have under agreement are expected to close early next year.

By proposing a project along Jeweler’s Row, Toll Brothers is making a move into the most historic diamond district in the country. The initial construction plans had already sparked a battle led by the Philadelphia Preservation Alliance to stop what would be deemed as a desecration of history.

Others view it differently. Some of the property owners along the street see the project as one way to finally revitalize it after years of decline, sporadic crime, rising vacancies and a general sense of being ignored by the city.

Hy Goldberg, CEO of Safian & Rudolph and president of the Jeweler’s Row Business Association, wasn’t happy about the new height of the tower. As with designing a piece of jewelry, stones and other elements need to balance each other out and fit well together and that’s not the case with the Toll tower, he said.

“I think it is out of proportion with the scale of the neighborhood,” he said. “I wish it was 16 stories instead of 29.”

While Goldberg isn’t happy with that aspect of the project and worries jewelers will lose roughly 10 percent of their business while the building is under construction, he has tried to work with Toll Brothers. For example, he and Toll are trying to find ways to salvage parts of the buildings, such as the facades. Goldberg realizes that they may end up being knocked down and hopeful the architectural design will help the new building will blend into the streetscape.

Since the scale of the project has increased so has the number of units. The project will now have 109 condominiums rather than 80 units.

While pricing of the condos hasn’t been set, the project will be comparable to 10 Rittenhouse Square, Emmons said. That high-end condo project has seen units sell for a range of prices but most are more than $1.5 million with many trading for between $2 million and $3 million and some as high as $6 million and $9 million.

“The market for condos in Philadelphia is strong right now,” Emmons said.

Toll expects to break ground on the Jeweler’s Row tower sometime in the middle of next year and complete the building by 2019.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...rs-jewelers-row-condos-height-tower.html

summersm343 · #**12702** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 6:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwp

Bridges over 676

Not sure if this has been shared on here yet, but noticed it earlier today:

http://www.bridgesover676.com/

Looks pretty good... I wish they would've capped everything between 18th and 21st Street however. The city should've pushed harder.

PHL10 · #**12703** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 7:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersm343

Toll Brothers increases height of Jeweler's Row project

This is now a pretty exciting project honestly. At 29 floors, if this tower has the same floor to ceiling ratio as 500 Walnut, this tower could reach over 400 FT tall.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...rs-jewelers-row-condos-height-tower.html

Hopefully that sets the stage for preserving the facades as a trade for the increased height.

Knight Hospitaller · #**12704** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 7:35 PM**

From the Toll article:

“The market for condos in Philadelphia is strong right now,” Emmons said.

That makes the 1911 Walnut fiasco all the more frustrating.

Philly Fan · #**12705** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 7:38 PM**

Here's the Inquirer picking it up:

Toll now planning 29-story tower on Jewelers Row for more condo units

Philly Fan · #**12706** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 7:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

From the Toll article:

“The market for condos in Philadelphia is strong right now,” Emmons said.

That makes the 1911 Walnut fiasco all the more frustrating.

Maybe it's the 1911 Walnut decision that has made the market strong for them.

As soon as they heard the news, they decided to push for additional height and condos.

Knight Hospitaller · #**12707** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 7:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Maybe it's the 1911 Walnut decision that has made the market strong for them.

As soon as they heard the news, they decided to push for additional height and condos.

Could be, but Washington Square still isn't Rittenhouse. I agree with Boxbot that SLC has proven not saavy at all. I guess the good news here is that Toll might be getting more saavy about building in Philly.

Philly Fan · #**12708** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 7:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

Could be, but Washington Square still isn't Rittenhouse. I agree with Boxbot that SLC has proven not saavy at all. I guess the good news here is that Toll might be getting more saavy about building in Philly.

Yeah, I don't think that's what really happened (Toll increasing height in response to SLC cutting condos). Not sure about SLC--could be that they'll still end up in a good place from their perspective, which is all any for-profit business really wants.

We'll just have to wait and see what the final compromise looks like.

tsarstruck · #**12709** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 8:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Yeah, I don't think that's what really happened (Toll increasing height in response to SLC cutting condos). Not sure about SLC--could be that they'll still end up in a good place from their perspective, which is all any for-profit business really wants.

We'll just have to wait and see what the final compromise looks like.

Article has been updated to reflect that SLC is only considering cutting condos. The office space is definitely cut, though.

donoteat · #**12710** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 8:12 PM**

This project is dumb and shouldn't happen.

summersm343 · #**12711** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 8:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHL10

Hopefully that sets the stage for preserving the facades as a trade for the increased height.

Article says even with the height increase, the tower can be built by right. Therefore, nobody can really hold anything over Toll's head for an additional height increase. If they own the properties - which are not historically protected - they can essentially do whatever they want if it fits the zoning of the site.

Knight Hospitaller · #**12712** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 8:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsarstruck

Article has been updated to reflect that SLC is only considering cutting condos. The office space is definitely cut, though.

That's more sensible. Hoping for a suitable compromise. This thing was supposed to fill that skyline gap left open by 1919 Market (when viewed from the south).

1487 · #**12713** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 8:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHL10

Hopefully that sets the stage for preserving the facades as a trade for the increased height.

dont think a trade is necessary, they can do it per the zoning code.

1487 · #**12714** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 8:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

From the Toll article:

“The market for condos in Philadelphia is strong right now,” Emmons said.

That makes the 1911 Walnut fiasco all the more frustrating.

dont forget about SLS. Something that was announced well before we knew anything about the 1911 project.

City Wide · #**12715** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 9:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersm343

Some apartment building updates

Most buildings are doing very well, and floating between 92% and 98% leased.

The only buildings struggling are 3601 Market (69% leased), Tower Place (87% leased), and The Granary (86% leased) and Dockside (84% leased). Tower Place may be due to location. The Granary - I believe - is fully being affected by the I-676 bridge replacement and it's difficulty to reach Center City. 3601 Market (similar to EVO), suffers from a few conditions, including missing it's construction end-date, limiting rentals to undergrads in a student market, location, and high asking rents. Dockside 100% suffers from location. It's not walkable to anything, and really only appeals to an older demographic looking to keep one or two cars.

Some surprising building lease-up numbers include 3737 Chestnut (96%), 1919 Market (70%), The Collins (30%) and the Dalian (35%). 3737 Chestnut crushed it's lease up numbers. The other 3 are well on their way to crushing their lease-ups. Collins and Dalian have only been leasing for 3 months. They're adding about 10% occupancy a month. They should be at full lease-up in 10 months (target lease-up is 13 months).

So all in all, while a few buildings seem to struggle here and there, overall, buildings are meeting or surpassing their lease up expectations. This is not really having an affect on already existing buildings either. There may be a temporary saturation in the market while all of these buildings finishing up get leased up, but I expect things to go back to normal next year once these units are absorbed.

I never know what to make of these type of numbers, and how true to think they are. Why would any owner willingly acknowledge that they are having some problems?

Why would the numbers be so different between 3601 Market and 3737 Chestnut? The 2 buildings are just 2 long blocks apart, so I doubt that location plays is that much of a factor. Are the actual units and the sq.ft. prices so much different?

I know that 3601 has tried to place itself as not just another student housing block, but does that mean that 3737 is just, more or less, a private student dorm?

In any case, the success of 3737 might be some type of indication that other similar projects can work in that area. Which is good news!

I've thought that a condo project might work in UC. One where the buyer could get some type of warranty where they wouldn't lose money if sold after 4 years. That way good old Mom and Dad could buy junior a condo to live in for 4 years while going to Penn or Drexel, and know they would/could get their principal back in 4 years. Anybody want to partner up with me?!

Knight Hospitaller · #**12716** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 9:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1487

dont forget about SLS. Something that was announced well before we knew anything about the 1911 project.

True. Maybe S. Broad is still not "hip" enough, however. Clearly not a problem near the squares.

jsbrook · #**12717** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 9:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Maybe it's the 1911 Walnut decision that has made the market strong for them.

As soon as they heard the news, they decided to push for additional height and condos.

Doubt that very much. Word is that Toll planned to increase the height long ago and it's been in the works. I think 1911 Walnut is an issue unique to that location and the history of the parcel. SLS is more an issue with the hotel portion than the condo market.

Philly Fan · #**12718** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 9:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Doubt that very much. Word is that Toll planned to increase the height long ago and it's been in the works. I think 1911 Walnut is an issue unique to that location and the history of the parcel. SLS is more an issue with the hotel portion than the condo market.

Note the two emoticons in my post--it was meant in jest, and not as a serious explanation.

jsbrook · #**12719** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 9:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHL10

Hopefully that sets the stage for preserving the facades as a trade for the increased height.

Nope. I believe it's still a by-right project. They don't need to bargain.

jsbrook · #**12720** Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 11:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Note the two emoticons in my post--it was meant in jest, and not as a serious explanation.

Haha. Ok. Sorry, slow on the uptake today.